Vietnam emerging as Southeast Asia's new tourist hot spot

Illustrative photo (Source: thanhnien.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) – Germany's website dw.com has published an article describing Vietnam as one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia forits diverse landscapes, beaches, mountainous rice terraces and bustling cities.

Thearticle cited a report by Google Destination Insights which assessed thatVietnam was the 7th most searched destination from March to June this year,and the only country in Southeast Asia in the top 20.

BobbyNguyen, Chairman of Rustic Hospitality Group, a tour agency, said that theboost is coming mainly from Chinese, Indian and Korean tourists. "Chinahas reopened the outbound market to Vietnam and the Indian market has grownsince 2022," he was quoted by the article.

Nguyenadded that the use of social media and the influence of large travel groups havealso helped promote Vietnam's international popularity.

The author also pointed to the Vietnamese Government’s new visa policy forinternational visitors arriving in the country, tripling visa waivers from 15to 45 days for selected countries. The changes will come into force on August15.

A coastal road in Ninh Thuan province (Photo: thanhnien.vn)

GaryBowerman, a tourism analyst based in Kuala Lumpur, said the visa changes willboost the tourism sector. "It's picking up, and over the next six months,you will see travelers to Vietnam increase. I think it's going to be verystrong, and you'll see growth particularly now the Chinese market isback," he said.

Oneof Vietnam's selling points is that it's a lesser-known destination, and itoffers both tourism and business opportunities, said Bowerman./.

VNA