Tourists in Quảng Bình central province. — VNA/VNS Photo Võ Dung

HÀ NỘI — The tourism industry served about three million domestic and international visitors during the four-day National Day holiday, which lasted from last Saturday to Tuesday, said the Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

This figure was an increase of 20 per cent, compared to the same period last year.

The average room occupancy during the holidays reached 56 per cent, up by 1.85 per cent compared to the same period last year.

International tourists

During the holiday, the number of international visitors to Việt Nam’s key tourist destinations increased.

They mainly come from the Republic of Korea, mainland China, Taiwan (China), India, Europe and the US and stayed for four to five days.

Among the provinces and cities that are loved and chosen by international visitors, Đà Nẵng ranks first with 91,000 tourists, an increase of 15.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Next was Hà Nội with more than 58,900 visitors, up by 35.8 per cent, Khánh Hòa with over 48,000 people and HCM City with 38,800 visitors, up by 3.2 per cent.

The number of international tourists to Thừa Thiên-Huế and Lào Cai increased dramatically, more than 45-54 per cent.

Due to the favourable weather across all three regions, total revenue from tourists nationwide increased significantly compared to the same period last year.

Of note, Bình Thuận Province welcomed a huge number of both domestic and foreign tourists.

The main reason is that the Dầu Giây-Phan Thiến Expressway was opened for public use and shortened the travel time from HCM City to Bình Thuận.

According to statistics from the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, during the four-day holiday, it received about 385,000 visitors, 3.3 times higher than last year, of which international visitors numbered about 9,700.

Revenue from tourism activities is estimated at about VNĐ510 billion (US$20.4 million).

New tourism products

To meet the tourists’ needs for sightseeing, entertainment and relaxation, localities have worked with local tourism businesses to innovate and build diverse and attractive tourism products.

Many cultural events and festivals have been jointly organised attracting the tourists and encouraging them to stay longer.

Typically, in Đà Nẵng, visitors can experience a cruise on the Hàn River, a cyclo tour to explore the the city’s beauty at night and paragliding to see the city from above.

In HCM City, a double-decker bus service to visit the city has been added and the Sky Garden commercial and culinary street has been opened.

At the Bò Cạp Vàng tourist area in Đồng Nai Province, an artificial waterfall named Bliss has been launched.

For air transport, the total number of flights provided during the holiday was more than 4,250, an average of 840 flights per day, an increase of 3.5 per cent over the same period last year.

The railway industry served about 130,000 passengers, up by ten per cent.

The VNAT said that the National Day holiday this year ended with many positive results.

Domestic tourism continued to grow strongly and international tourism is gradually regaining momentum.

These are positive signs of growth for the industry in the fourth quarter this year, said the national tourism authority. — VNS