HCM CITY — With Việt Nam looking to develop tourism into a key driver of economic growth, a US travel site is urging travellers to check out the best of the country before it is too late.

A piece by Canadian writer Lewis Kelly published on New York-based travel site thrillist.com names Việt Nam as one of the destinations to visit “before it’s too popular” and provides a list of must-see sites in the country.

It is potentially the perfect bucket list for first-timers to Việt Nam, and includes the world famous Hạ Long Bay, Hội An, royal tombs and temples in Huế, HCM City’s Notre Dame Cathedral and Hà Nội’s Old Quarter, Sa Pa in the northern highlands, and the Bản Giốc Waterfall on the Chinese border.

The country’s tourism industry earned VNĐ400 trillion ($17.6 billion) in 2016.

With visa waiver policies for several large markets in Asia and Europe, the industry hopes to welcome 17-20 million foreign visitors and make $35 billion per year by 2020, contributing 10 percent to the country’s GDP compared to the current 7.5 percent. — VNS