Foreign tourists at a hotel in downtown HCM City. VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — Despite improvement seen in the first quarter of the year, the pace of international travel recovery remains slow since mid-March when Việt Nam reopened its borders to international tourism, according to the Việt Nam Tourism Association.

The number of international tourist arrivals reached more than 600,000 in the first half of 2022, making the target of welcoming five million foreign visitors this year more challenging, said Vũ Thế Bình, chairman of the association.

In the first six months of this year, domestic travel saw a strong performance, with tourist arrivals jumping to 60.8 million, a 1.9-fold increase compared to the same period last year, he said at a press briefing held on Monday (July 25) in HCM City.

Domestic visitor arrivals are expected to reach pre-COVID-19 levels of 85 million in October, he said.

But domestic travel accounted for only 30 per cent of the tourism sector, which covers inbound, outbound and domestic travel.

Government agencies and tourism stakeholders will identify challenges and discuss measures to quicken the recovery of international tourism and the sustainable growth of the tourism sector at a national forum held on August 8, he said.

The forum with the theme “New products, new markets” and a national workshop on training tourism human resources are part of a range of activities during the two-day programme entitled “Liên Kết Sức Mạnh Du Lịch Việt Nam năm 2022” (Power of Việt Nam Tourism Linkages) held August 8-9 at the Independence Palace.

The programme will feature an exhibition with 120 booths showing tour packages, travel products and services, and B2B interaction.

Organised by the HCM City Tourism Association, the event offers opportunities for tourism businesses to network and take advantage of opportunities for co-operation to accelerate the tourism sector’s recovery from COVID-19.

Free entrance to the Independence Palace is offered for visitors during the event. — VNS