International tourists buying dried speciality goods at Bình Tây market, District 6, HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam received more than 5.57 million foreign tourists in the first six months of 2023, a nine-fold year-on-year increase, according to the latest report from the General Statistics Office on Thursday.

However, the number still only equals 65.7 per cent of the number of the first half of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

Some 4.9 million visitors arrived in Việt Nam by air (87.6 per cent of the total), 633,500 visitors arrived via road (11.4 per cent), and 55,000 via sea routes (1 per cent), per the report.

In June alone, Việt Nam welcomed over 975,000 international travellers, an increase of 6.4 per cent from the previous month, and 4.1 times over the same period in 2022 (Việt Nam officially reopened its border and resumed all international tourism activities in mid-March last year).

Asia still brings the majority of arrivals to Việt Nam with 4.2 million visitors in the first six months of the year, followed by Europe (695,300 visitors), the Americas (473,400), Oceania (202,300), and Africa (12,400).

The major markets of Việt Nam’s tourism were the Republic of Korea, mainland China, Taiwan (China), the US, Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, and Australia.

The number of domestic tourists during the period was estimated at 64 million. Total revenue from tourists was estimated at VNĐ343.1 trillion (US$14.6 billion).

Some 2.4 million Vietnamese have gone abroad this year so far (including 447,400 departures recorded in June), four times the same period last year and about 71.5 per cent of 2019’s first six months.

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

Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng in the half-year review meeting with Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) on Wednesday requested that the agency boost the promotion of Việt Nam tourism abroad with a new mindset, connecting with new audiences through cinema, art, exhibitions, and so on.

Vice Chair of VNAT Hà Văn Siêu stated that the international tourism market still has a lot of potential for strong growth in the near future, especially during the peak season at the end of the year.

The search volume for Việt Nam’s tourism via Google's market trend tracking tool has kept growing from the beginning of this year. It was the only Southeast Asian nation listed in the top 10 destinations with the highest growth worldwide.

According to VNAT, increasing search volume for Việt Nam indicates a strong demand recovery. So, Việt Nam sees good opportunities to attract international visitors in the coming time.

In a related development, the National Assembly on June 24 approved extending tourist e-visas from 30 to 90 days, starting from August 15, 2023.

Upon being granted an e-visa, a foreigner can enter and exit an unlimited number of times within 90 days, without having to go through procedures for obtaining a new visa.

Citizens of countries that are unilaterally exempted from visas by Việt Nam will be granted visa-free entry for 45 days (up from 15 days) and can be considered for visa issuance and temporary residence extension according to regulations.

Such new policies are expected to help Việt Nam attract a large number of international visitors, especially during the peak season starting around September, and the country will likely surpass the goal of receiving eight million international tourists this year, he noted. — VNS