The increase was attributable to favourable visa policies, tourism stimulus programmes, and efforts made by local authorities and the sector.
Among the foreign arrivals, 83.6% have travelled to Vietnam by air, 13.5% by road and 2.9% by sea.
Revenue from accommodation and food services in the first quarter is estimated at 6.98 billion USD, and from travel and tourism activities at more than 563 million USD, up 46.3% year-on-year.
In the period, 1.2 million Vietnamese people travelled abroad, a year-on-year rise of 11.5%.
In March alone, nearly 1.6 million international tourists have visited Vietnam, leading to a month-on-month increase of 4.4%.
This year, the tourism sector set targets of serving 18 million foreign tourists and 110 million domestic ones, and earning over 34 billion USD from visitors./.
