Foreign tourists experience Vietnamese culture. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s tourism industry has the potential to attract as many as 12-13 million visitors by the end of this year, far beyond the original 8 million target, said Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) Pham Van Thuy.
Speaking at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hanoi on October 9, Thuy said that the October to April period is peak time for Vietnam to welcome foreign visitors.
Meanwhile, in the first nine months of this year, the country attracted nearly 8.9 million foreign visitors, exceeding the year’s initial target of 8 million by 11%.
Thuy said that the target was adjusted based on four factors. These include Vietnam's more open e-visa policy since August 15, and its effective bilateral and multilateral foreign policies. The country’s policy on cultural revival is also a contributor, with its historical sites and heritages turned into unique tourism products for international tourists. Also, traditional tourism markets have also shown relatively good signs of recovery, mobilizing a new wave of tourists to come to Vietnam, he said.
Previously, at a conference on reviewing culture, sports and tourism activities in the first nine months, and identifying tasks for the remaining months of the year on September 29, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet announced that the ministry would propose the Government adjust the target for international tourists from 8 million to 12.5 to 13 million visitors in 2023.
Meanwhile, the number of domestic visitors also reached about 93.5% of the yearly target. Until the end of the year, it is expected that domestic tourism will also reach and exceed the set target with about 102 million tourists.
Unique culture is one of the "plus points" of Vietnam in attracting foreign visitors. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
According to the official, the tourism industry in the past nine months completed important tasks including the implementation of the Vietnam tourism marketing strategy until 2030, the implementation of the project on night tourism products, and Visit Vietnam Year 2023 hosted by the south central province of Binh Thuan.
However, the tourism industry still faces difficulties that hinder its recovery such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, incomplete recovery of the Chinese tourist market, and limited tourism promotion activities from central to local levels.
In addition, after the COVID-19 pandemic, travel trends are changing, with reduced demand, less spending and fewer activities. This has resulted in an increased number of tourists but tourism activities have not fully recovered.
VNAT Deputy Director Pham Van Thuy said that in the last three months of the year, the tourism industry will focus on attracting international visitors and supporting major tourism hubs.
The VNAT will make efforts to remove difficulties for businesses, boost tourism promotion activities abroad, and strengthen inspection, examination and management of destinations to enhance quality and attract tourists.
International tourists are impressed by Vietnamese nature. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
To achieve the newly set goal, Vietnam will boost promotion activities at target markets. In particular, for the Western European market, the agency and businesses are actively preparing for the World Travel Market (WTM) which will take place in London (UK) in November 2023 China-ASEAN Expo Tourism Exhibition in Guilin city, China in October and others in US, Australia or India.
One of the focuses of Vietnamese tourism in the coming time is to develop tourism types and products. Accordingly, the Government approved a project to develop the night economy and the tourism industry launched a project to develop night tourism products in 12 localities. The project offers a legal base for tourism services from 6 pm to 6 am of the following day./.
