Foreign tourists in the Hoàn Kiếm walking street area, Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has welcomed 8.832 million foreign tourists in the first six months of 2024, up by 58.4 per cent year-on-year, according to the H1 report from the General Statistics Office.

The number also represents a slight increase of 4.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, before the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Favourable visa policies, and strong efforts in tourism promotion campaigns by localities across the country have attracted a rather high number of international guests compared to last year's number," the General Statistics Office. explained on the rise.

In June, 1.2 million international tourists visited, rising by 28.1 per cent compared to last year's, but lower than the growth pace of 51 per cent that May saw.

Among the 8.832 million visitors so far this year, arrivals by air account for 83.8 per cent (7.4 million), 14.3 per cent by road (1.3 million) and 1.9 per cent by sea (164,900).

Việt Nam received 6.944 million tourists from Asian countries, marking a 65.7 per cent increase year-on-year. Europe contributed over 1 million, showing a 52.4 per cent increase. The Americas accounted for 536,800 tourists, a rise of 13.4 per cent. From Oceania, there were 266,600 tourists, up by 31.8 per cent. While Africa saw 25,300 tourists, the highest increase at 104.4 per cent.

South Korea continues to lead in number of visitors to Việt Nam with 2.28 million, followed by China with 1.89 million. The other markets in the top 10 include Taiwan (China), the United States, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, India, Cambodia and Thailand.

The tourism sector has set out the target of receiving 17-18 million foreign tourists this year, much higher than the target of 12.6 million in 2023.

The peak of international tourism for Việt Nam starts from around September to next year's March-April.

Data from the General Statistics Office also shows that service export turnover is estimated to reach US$11.25 billion, an increase of 20 per cent compared to the same period in 2023. Of this, tourism services accounted for $6 billion (53.1 per cent of the total), an increase of 40.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Service import turnover for the first six months of 2024 reaches $16.11 billion, up by 22 per cent year-on-year. Of this, transportation services accounted for $6.9 billion (42.7 per cent of the total), an increase of 18.6 per cent; and tourism services accounted for $4.9 billion (30.4 per cent of the total), an increase of 52.9 per cent.

In the first half of the year, 2.6 million Vietnamese have gone abroad, up by 11.4 per cent year-on-year.

Some localities that have posted good tourism results include the capital city of Hà Nội with 14 million tourists so far in the year, with international arrivals up by 5.2.6 per cent; the central province of Thanh Hoá with 9.8 million visitors; the coastal province of Khánh Hoà with 5.2 million staying visitors, up by 88 per cent compared to last year.

The Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) has been actively promoting and advertising to continue attracting international tourists.

From June 24 to July 2, the administration has held events in Paris (France), Milan (Italy), and Frankfurt (Germany) to promote Việt Nam's tourism. Europe is a key market for Vietnamese tourism, with tourists often choosing long vacations and high spending.

Additionally, from June 29 to July 3, the ministry is also holding the Việt Nam Tourism and Culture Promotion Festival in South Korea 2024. The festival introduced the country's image and people and promoted Việt Nam's tourism brand, destinations, services, and tourism potential to the Korean public through cultural and tourism activities. 

The administration reported that South Korea has always been a top target market for Vietnamese tourism. The number of South Korean tourists to Việt Nam increased fivefold from 2014 to 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 38 per cent. In 2023, South Korea was the largest source market for tourists to Việt Nam, with 3.6 million visitors.

Việt Nam was also the leading source market for tourists to South Korea in Southeast Asia, with about 420,000 Vietnamese visitors. — VNS