Japanese tourists are presented with souvenirs from Đà Nẵng's tourism authorities to commemorate the first direct flight from Narita to Đà Nẵng, which resumed after years of disruptions by the COVID-19 pandemic, at the city's international airport on March 26, 2023. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Lê Lâm

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam received 895,000 foreign visitors in March, bringing the total number in the first quarter to 2.69 million, according to the latest figures from the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Việt Nam.

Of this total, air travellers accounted for 89.8 per cent, road travellers accounted for 9 per cent, and sea travellers accounted for 1.2 per cent.

The figures for the first quarter of this year represent a 29.7 times jump from the same period in 2022, though it should be noted that Việt Nam only completely reopened its border and resumed international tourism activities in mid-March last year after the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, 2.69 million is still just about 60 per cent of the total of foreign visitors to Việt Nam in the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic broke out.

According to the GSO, revenues from accommodation and catering services in the first quarter of 2023 are estimated to reach VNĐ161 trillion (US$6.85 billion).

Some localities' revenues have posted significant increases in revenues from the same period last year, such as the central city of Đà Nẵng (73.5 per cent), the northern coastal province of Quảng Ninh (43.1 per cent), the southern city of Cần Thơ and HCM City (42.4 per cent and 37.2 per cent), and Hà Nội (12.5 per cent).

The revenue from packaged tours in the first quarter is estimated to reach VNĐ6.8 trillion, 2.2 times the figure of last year due to cultural, festival, and tourism activities taking place in many localities in the early months of the year.

In 2023, the Vietnamese tourism industry strives to welcome 110 million visitors, including about eight million international visitors (the goal was set before China lifted border restrictions in February) and about 102 million domestic visitors, with total tourism revenue of about VNĐ650 trillion ($27.6 billion).

Vũ Thế Bình, chairman of the Việt Nam Tourism Association, stated that 2023 has positive things going for it – the return of Chinese tourists after the country reopened and much more relaxed visa policies set to be passed by the National Assembly later this year that would see e-visa validity extended to three months.

All tourism businesses have expressed the hope that international arrivals to Việt Nam can surpass the target this year, Bình said.

The Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism) has carried out various promotional activities to attract international visitors to Việt Nam.

From March 7-9, Việt Nam participated in the ITB Berlin International Tourism Fair, considered the largest international one in the industry.

Việt Nam’s impressive booth design, the participation of numerous businesses and localities, diverse promotional activities introducing the country’s tourism products and services, and unique artistic performances have attracted many international organisers, partners, visitors, and journalists.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism have just held a meeting to discuss several collaborative activities to promote Việt Nam’s tourism abroad and contribute to the recovery of the post-pandemic tourism industry.

The Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism proposed that both sides focus on promoting both inbound and outbound tourism, especially ensuring the rights and interests of Vietnamese people travelling abroad.

In addition to the main forms of tourism, such as ecotourism, island tourism, MICE tourism, promoting and advertising cultural and culinary tourism should also be paid attention to, as culinary tourism is an effective way for international tourists to know more about Việt Nam. — VNS