Foreign tourists visiting Bình Tây Market in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Nearly 3.7 million foreign tourists travelled to Việt Nam in the first four months of 2023, according to Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

The number of domestic tourists during the period was estimated at 38 million.

Total revenue from tourists was estimated at VNĐ196.6 trillion (US$8.3 billion).

Of the total visitors, up to 88.7 per cent travelled by air, 10.1 per cent by road, and 1.2 per cent by sea.

In April alone, Việt Nam welcomed 984,000 international travellers, the highest figure from the beginning of this year and an increase of 9.9 per cent from the previous month. The country served 10.5 million domestic tourists in the month.

The Republic of Korea remains Việt Nam’s biggest tourism market in the first four months of this year with one million visitors, followed by the United States with 263,000 and China with 252,000 travellers.

The number of Chinese tourists to Việt Nam in April was 112,000, up 61.5 per cent from the previous month thanks to China’s border reopening to group tours from March 15.

Revenues from accommodation and catering services between January to April are estimated to reach 214.8 trillion VND, representing a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent.

Meanwhile, thanks to exciting cultural and tourism activities taking place in many localities in the early months of the year, travel revenue was estimated at VNĐ9.1 trillion, nearly 2.1 times higher than the same period last year.

This year, Việt Nam is striving to serve 110 million tourists, including 8 million foreigners (the target was set before China, the primary tourist market to Việt Nam, announced its reopening in February), and earn around VNĐ650 trillion ($27.6 billion) from tourism services.

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.

According to VNAT, the screening of the film “A tourist’s guide to love” on Netflix which was shot in Việt Nam has attracted the attention of audience around the world. The film features the beauty of local landscapes along with the beauty of Vietnamese people and culture at six main locations namely Hà Nội, HCM City, Đà Nẵng, Hội An and Mỹ Sơn (Quảng Nam) and Hà Giang.

It ranks third in the list of globally most-watched movies on Netflix with 13.4 million viewing hours.

The film not only popularises the image of Việt Nam’s beauty to international friends, but also inspires international tourists to come to Việt Nam immediately, the VNAT said. — VNS