HCM City welcomes five millionth foreign visitor
HCM City (VNA) – The southern largest economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City welcomed
its five millionth foreign visitor at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on
December 24.
Nguyen Thi Thu,
Vice Chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Committee said the event marked the city’s
sustainable tourism development.
With its
advantages and potentials, HCM City has spared no effort, created favourable
conditions for tourism development and build a friendly environment to draw
more international visitors, she added.
The number
of visitors to HCM City has been on the rise over the years, with an annual
average growth of 8.2 percent. Revenue from tourism services have increased by
16.4 percent on average, accounting for 9 percent of the city’s gross domestic
product (GDP).
HCM
City expects to welcome more than 5.2 million foreign tourists in 2016, a rise
of 10 percent against last year, and served 21.8 million domestic visitors, up
10 percent year-on-year.
The
city’s tourism sector has set goals of serving 5.5 million foreign tourists and
24 million domestic visitors, with total revenue of 112 trillion VND (around 4.9
billion USD) in 2017.-VNA