Visitors enjoy the beauty of Tràng An tourism site in the northern province of Ninh Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức

HÀ NỘI — Readers of the New York-based travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler have voted Việt Nam the 10th best country in the world.

The country won in the category 'The Best Countries in the World: 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards' for its “vibrant street food, markets, and cultural offerings”, as well as the bustling cities of Hà Nội and HCM City.

The ancient town of Hội An in the central province of Quảng Nam is a top attraction for tourists. — VNA/VNS Photo

Describing Việt Nam as a country that “pulses with energy”, the magazine wrote on its website that the country has “plenty of well-trodden paths”. Head away from urban centres and you’ll find peaceful natural surroundings and sacred temples.

“The country has long been known as a bastion for intrepid backpackers, but that’s fast changing. For starters, more than 2,000 miles of coastline holds some of the best beaches in the world, while a countryside of undulating rice terraces and hills provides serenity away from the crowded, chaotic cities,” it wrote.

The magazine has also suggested travellers will find architectural wonders – ancient imperial temples, forts, and tombs, which are in direct contrast to the hive-like buzz of scootered metropolis of Hà Nội.

“The dichotomy is energetic and striking,” it said.

The ‘The Best Countries in the World: 2019 Readers' Choice Awards’ list included 20 countries.

The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Italy, Greece, Portugal, South Africa, Peru, Sri Lanka and Việt Nam are among the top ten.

Countries ranked from 11th to 20th were Turkey, Japan, Mexico, Tanzania, Israel, Colombia, New Zealand, Ireland and Croatia.

The results were based on the choices of more than 600,000 readers across the globe submitting their responses and rating their recent travel experiences of the world’s countries, cities, islands, hotels, resorts, cruise lines, airlines and airports.

This year marks the magazine’s 32nd annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey.

Last month, Việt Nam was honoured as Asia’s Leading Destination for the second year in a row, together with the Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination award at the 26th World Travel Awards (WTA).
Hội An, a tourist city in the central province of Quảng Nam and home to the Hội An ancient town – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was named Asia's Leading Cultural City Destination at the awards.

Viet Nam welcomed 12.9 million foreign visitors in the first nine months of 2019, a year-on-year rise of 10.8 per cent, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The office said the number of foreign arrivals from Asian nations saw the highest increase of 12.5 per cent, followed by those from Africa, America and Europe with respective rises of 10.8 per cent, 6.8 per cent and 5.3 per cent.

The country’s tourism sector aims to receive 17.5-18 million foreign tourists in 2019 and serve 85 million domestic visitors, raking in total revenue of VNĐ700 trillion (US$30.17 billion). — VNS