Vietnam’s tourism sector has set a new record by welcoming nearly 1.62 million foreign tourists to the country this month alone, up by 34.3 per cent over the same month last year.
According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), this huge spike in tourist arrivals are also the highest growth rate the sector has recorded this year.
The GSO also announced the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam has reached nearly 14.5 million in the first 10 months of the year 2019, up 13 per cent over the same period last year. Statistics also show the majority of the tourists were Chinese and South Korean visitors who accounted for nearly 56 per cent.
The Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) noted that the growth displayed was impressive as it is significantly higher than the regional and international average growth being reported by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
According to the UNWTO, the number of people taking trips to foreign countries worldwide saw a modest increase of 4 per cent within the first six months of 2019. Additionally, Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific also saw an increase of 5 and 6 per cent respectively.
Vietnam’s first 10 month’s growth was due to efforts made by the whole sector, according to the VNAT.
The key source market for Vietnam’s tourism sector is unsurprisingly the Asia region. Within the past 10 months, foreign visitor numbers from Asia accounted for up to 79.5 per cent of all visitors, an increase of 15.2 per cent over the same period last year.
In particular, those from mainland China rose by 9.4 per cent while those from South Korea rose 22.1 per cent, Japan 15 per cent, and Taiwan 29.5 per cent.
These three markets also saw a significant jump in numbers in October alone with South Korea up 19 per cent, Japan increasing 23 per cent, and Taiwan rising 44 per cent.
More travellers from elsewhere in Southeast Asia as well, with the most impressive growth from Thailand at 47.7 per cent for the year and up 60.3 per cent in October alone.
The statistics also show growth trends from Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UK, and France.
Along with winning several awards at the 26th World Travel Awards ceremony for the Asia-Pacific region in 2019 earlier this month, these trends are convincing evidence that Vietnam’s tourism industry is not only incredibly robust, but is also one of the top industries in the region and the world.
From smemagazine.asia
