Cam Ranh International Airport in the southern province of Khanh Hoa welcomed two aircraft carrying 251 visitors from the Russian Far East on Jan. 23 – the first day of the lunar New Year festival.

The visitors come from nine provinces of the Far Eastern regions on a tour which started since October 31, 2011. The tour has so far attracted nearly 17,000 visitors from the Far Eastern regions.

A representative from Anh Duong Tourist Co., Ltd, which developed the tour said at present there are 10 flights bringing Russian visitors to Vietnam each week.

According to the Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the province received almost 2.2 million holidaymakers in 2011, including 440,000 foreigners.

This year, the provincial tourism sector aims to raise the number of foreign arrivals to 500,000./.