About 18,000 people in HCM City chose to travel aboard during Tết. Photo danviet.vn

HCM CITY - Around 18,000 Vietnamese tourists chose foreign tours through travel agencies in HCM City during the Lunar New Year this year, spending a total of VNĐ430 billion (US$18.3 million), according to a report from the city's Department of Tourism.

The number of tourists choosing foreign tours accounted for 55 to 65 per cent of the total domestic and foreign tours.

This is an unexpected growth, according to tourism businesses.

Nguyễn Nguyệt Vân Khánh, director of Vietravel's marketing department, said that the company recorded a total of more than 47,000 tourists registered for Tết tourism, much higher than last year.

This year, despite the effects of the pandemic, tourists are still excited about their plans to travel abroad because their favourite destinations have almost returned to normal and visa policies are also more convenient.

Destinations such as Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Europe and the US always attract many tourists; some tourists even choose to pre-book foreign tours in March and April 2023.

Similarly, travel companies such as Saigontourist, TST Tourist and Benthanh Tourist have had dozens of tourists going abroad during this Tết holiday.

Trần Quốc Bảo, deputy general director of Saigontourist Travel, said that the number of tourists travelling aboard on the Lunar New Year holidays through the company reached 21,000. VNS