HCM CITY — HCM City hopes to receive 7.5 million international visitors next year, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

The number of domestic arrivals is expected to rise by a more modest 15 per cent to 29 million, Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of the city’s Department of Tourism, said.

The tourism sector would focus on efforts to develop cultural and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) tourism, he told a press meeting on Thursday.

It plans to diversify its products and organise a series of tourism events through the year to attract visitors, he said.

It will devise marketing strategies and organise promotional activities broad to attract potential international tourists.

The marketing and promotional activities will focus on markets such as Thailand, India, South Korea, Japan and the US, which have recorded strong growth this year.

It will also address lingering problems that drive foreign tourists away, such as overcharging, street vendors and taxi drivers’ poor attitude.

The department will work with the city Tourism Association to welcome the first international and domestic tourists of 2018 at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport on January 1.

This year the city saw more than 6.3 million international arrivals, 1 million higher than last year.

China was the biggest source of visitors, followed by South Korea, Japan, the US, Taiwan and Russia.

The number of domestic tourists visiting the city numbered nearly 25 million, a year-on-year increase of 14.6 per cent.

Tourism revenues are estimated at nearly VNĐ116 trillion (US$5.1 billion).

Tourism stimulus programme

The HCM City Tourism Association yesterday kicked off the domestic tourism stimulus programme for 2018.

It has signed agreements with Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar Pacific, and Saigon Railway Transport Joint Stock Company to offer domestic tour packages by air and rail with discounts of up to 70 per cent and 50 per cent respectively.

Next year tour packages offered under the programme will focus on three central provinces -- Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh and Quảng Bình -- Trần Hùng Việt, chairman of the association, said.

More than 353,800 air tickets were sold this year under the programme, 160 per cent higher than last year.

A total of 38,140 train tickets were also sold compared to 13,000 in 2016.

Most of the package tours were from HCM City to Phú Quốc Island and Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng, Huế, and Quy Nhơn cities. — VNS