Foreign tourists from the cruise ship Spectrum of the Seas disembark to go sightseeing in the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu as the ship docked at the Tân Cảng-Cái Mép in February 26-27, 2023. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The number of foreign tourists arriving in Việt Nam in February hits 933,000, up 7.1 per cent compared to January, according to the latest report from the General Statistics Office.

The February figure represented a 31.6 times increase compared to the same period last year before the country completely reopened its borders and resumed all international tourism activities in mid-March.

All in all, there were 1.804 million foreign visitors arriving in Việt Nam in the first two months of 2023, 36.6 times higher than the first two months of 2022, but barely 60 per cent of the figure of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

In the first two months, 90.7 per cent of the tourists came to Việt Nam by air (1.6 million), 8.6 per cent by road (154,900), and 0.7 per cent by sea (13,000).

Most of the visitors are from the Asia continent with 1.29 million, followed by European visitors (242,500), Americas (186,300), Oceania (77,300), and Africa (4,300).

Việt Nam aims to welcome eight million foreign tourists this year, a modest figure compared to the 19 million tourists the country received in 2019.

The goal was set at the beginning of 2023, before China, a major market that contributes nearly a third of the total of foreign visitors to Việt Nam in pre-pandemic years announced its reopening plan in February.

However, it should be noted that China has not included Việt Nam in the list of 20 countries to where travel companies can organise outbound tours with "flights+hotels" service (which include Thailand, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Cuba, South Africa, etc.) in its tourism resumption announcement on February 6.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed China restart outbound travel tours to Việt Nam to improve and recover tourism between the two countries in a diplomatic note.

The Việt Nam Administration of Tourism said during March 7-9, Việt Nam will attend the 2023 ITB Berlin Fair, the world's largest annual tourism trade fair with 180,000 visitors expected this year.

Việt Nam will build a 450m2 pavilion under the theme of "Reconnecting" after COVID-19 disruptions. Việt Nam's tourism will prioritise 'reconnections' with markets, partners, tourists and the public in German and European nations.

Many travel agencies and tourism companies will also be present to introduce Việt Nam's travel policies, destinations, and their new tourism products - especially health-related and sustainable, responsible tourism.

New websites, video clips and publications for new promotional campaigns for Việt Nam's tourism will be unveiled at this event.— VNS

The two-month tourism revenue of 2023 is estimated at VNĐ4.7 trillion (about US$197 million), 2.2 times higher than the same period last year, as localities this year can resume spring festivals completely uninhabited by COVID-19 restrictions, drawing a large number of domestic travellers.