Khanh Hoa (VNA) – A charter flight with 231 passengers on board from Russia arrived at Cam Ranh International Airport on March 17.
This marked the first charter flight bringing Russian tourists to Nha Trang, the south-central province of Khanh Hoa since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020.
The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with Anex Vietnam and relevant units, welcomed Flight ZF2577 of Azu Air LLC from Russia's Irkutsk international airport with a water salute and a traditional lion dance upon arrival at Cam Ranh airport. Passengers onboard the charter flights also got souvenir gifts. The event follows the province’s tourism promotion efforts in Russia, including a conference in Moscow.
According to the department, Russian tourists typically stay for at least five nights, mainly at three- to five-star hotels, as part of all-inclusive tour packages that explore Nha Trang’s renowned attractions.
Anex Vietnam, the company spearheading the return of Russian visitors, plans to operate charter flights from 11 Russian cities to Cam Ranh International Airport. These cities include Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Novokuznetsk, and Blagoveshchensk. The company aims to run approximately 12 charter flights in March 2025, increasing to 50-55 flights per month from April to June, and further scaling up to 90-100 flights per month from July onwards.
Before COVID-19, Russians were Khanh Hoa’s second-largest tourist group, with over 460,000 arrivals in 2019. The pandemic and geopolitical issues saw numbers drop to 14,000 in 2022 and 51,200 in 2023. In 2024, arrivals rebounded to 105,513, more than double the previous year but just 22.8% of 2019 levels.
Khanh Hoa aims to attract 11.8 million tourists, including 5.2 million international visitors, in 2025. The total tourism revenue is expected to reach 60 trillion VND (2.35 billion USD).
Between January and March, Khanh Hoa’s accommodation services recorded over 2.5 million visitors, a 19.6% increase year-on-year.
International arrivals exceeded 1.3 million, up by 12.5%, while Russian arrivals in the first two months of the year reached 24,000, marking a 73.15% surge compared to the same period in 2024./.
