Thai tourists take photos at the Golden Bridge at Bà Na Hills in Đà Nẵng. — Photo from infonet.vn

HCM CITY — The number of Thai tourist arrivals in Việt Nam saw a sharp rise in the first five months of the year, according to the General Statistics Office of Việt Nam.

Việt Nam has welcomed nearly 7.3 million foreign visitors so far this year, including 215,676 from Thailand.

The figure represents an increase of 47.5 per cent of Thai tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year.

It is the highest tourist growth-rate increase among all other countries.

According to tourism agencies, many Thai tourists prefer Đà Nẵng because of its weather, ease of travel and location.

There are 56 flights from Bangkok and seven flights a week from Chiang Mai to Đà Nẵng, according to the Đà Nẵng Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 

The flights are operated by both local and Thai airline companies such as Vietjet Air, Bangkok Airways and Thai Air Asia.

Cao Trí Dũng, chairman of the management board of the Việt Nam TravelMart Joint-Stock Company, told Thanh Niên newspaper that Thai tourists were mostly independent travellers who do not need a visa to travel to VIệt Nam.

They can easily book airline tickets and hotels on online websites such as agoda.com and booking.com.

The cooler weather at Bà Nà Hills near Đà Nẵng attracts Thai tourists, as well as other central destinations, facilities and services.

In addition, the Golden Bridge, listed among Time magazine's World's 100 Greatest Places in 2018, is another attraction.

Tourists from China, the largest tourism market for Việt Nam, slowed down in the first five months of the year. 

The number of Chinese tourists was more than 2.1 million, an eight per cent decrease compared to the same period last year.

This year, Việt Nam welcomed 1.76 million visitors from South Korea, the country’s second biggest market, an increase of 22. 4 per cent compared to the same period last year. — VNS