Foreigners visiting Vietnam hit record high in October

International tourists explore Phu Quoc night market in the southern province of Kien Giang (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam welcomed a record number of international arrivals in October, reaching nearly 1.62 million, up 34.3 percent year-on-year, according to figures released by the General Statistics Office (GSO) on October 29.

Close to 14.5 million international visitors came to the country during the January-October period, a rise 13 percent year-on-year, with nearly 56 percent of the arrivals coming from China and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Visitor growth seen in all key markets

According to the General Statistics Office, international visitors from the key market markets of Vietnam's tourism all grew in the first 10 months of 2019.

Of the total international visitors to Vietnam during the period, 79.5 percent were from Asian countries, up 15.2 percent from the same period last year. Most source markets sending tourists to Vietnam showed increases, such as 9.4 percent for China, 22.1 percent for the RoK, 15 percent for Japan, and 29.5 percent for Taiwan (China).

Impressive growth was also recorded in the numbers of visitors from Southeast Asian countries, with Thailand leading with a growth rate of 47.7 percent. Tourists from Malaysia increased 3.6 percent, the Philippines 19.5 percent and Indonesia 20.3 percent. Singapore has surpassed France to become the 11th largest source market of tourists to Vietnam.

The Indian market showed a high growth of 23.4 percent, signaling the new growth trend from near markets in the region and the continent.

The number of tourists from Europe picked up 5.5 percent, with a 5.8 percent increase in the number of vacationers from the UK, 4.8 percent for Russia and 1.7 percent for France.

Vietnamese tourism’s position and brand improve

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) said the growth rate of international arrivals in the past 10 months is remarkably higher than the average growth in the region and the world. According to the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the number of international travellers in the world increased by 4 percent in the first six months of this year, while the rate for Asia-the Pacific is 6 percent and Southeast Asia 5 percent.

The outcome was attributable to efforts made by the tourism sector from July to October, which recorded a year-on-year growth of nearly 22 percent.

International tourists visit Trang An landscape complex in the northern province of Ninh Binh (Photo: VNA)

In early October, the World Travel Awards Asia and Oceania 2019 was organised on Phu Quoc Island, a popular tourist destination off the southern Vietnamese province of Kien Giang. Here Vietnam was honoured with four important prizes. The country was named Asia’s Leading Destination for the second year in a row, Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination and Asia’s Leading Culinary Destination. Hoi An, a tourist city in the central province of Quang Nam and home to Hoi An Ancient Town – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was named Asia's Leading Cultural City Destination.

The awards have contributed to affirm the position of Vietnam tourism in the region and the world. At the same time, this is also a "golden opportunity" for Vietnam's tourism sector to strengthen promotion activities in the coming time.

The awards also showed Vietnam's efforts in promotion activities. In particular, this was the first time Vietnamese cuisine had been recognized by world-class organizations such as the World Travel Awards.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in recent years, especially 2019, Vietnam's tourism promotion activities have been reformed in terms of method and scale and achieved positive outcomes, thus increasing the attraction of visitors to the country.

Although Vietnam faces many difficulties and challenges, even declines in visitors from some international markets in the first months of the year, it has still achieved a high growth rate.

In addition, air connectivity is increasingly convenient for international travelers to Vietnam with many direct flights launched, most recently the direct route from Hanoi to Kolkata (India). Vietnam's tourism products better meet the diverse needs of foreign visitors./.