China regains status as biggest Viet Nam's top tourism source market
VGP - China surpassed South Korea to become Viet Nam's biggest tourism source market in May with 357,907 arrivals, reported the General Statistics Office.
South Korea accounts for the highest number of international visitors to Viet Nam in five months with 1.9 million, making up 25.7 percent - Photo: VGP/Thuy Dung
The above figure raised total foreign arrivals in May to 1.4 million, up 51 percent against the same period last year.
During January-May, nearly 7.6 million foreign visitors travelled to Viet Nam, a year-on-year increase of 64.9 percent and up 3.9 percent in comparison with the pre-pandemic period in 2019.
South Korea accounted for the highest number of international visitors to Viet Nam in the first five months with 1.9 million, making up 25.7 percent. China came second with 1.6 million, accounting for 21.2 percent.
It was followed by Taiwan, the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia and India.
During the reviewed period, Asia was still the largest source of international visitors to Viet Nam, especially China (up 302.3 percent), South Korea (up 48.1 percent), Japan (up 41.7 percent), Taiwan (China) (up 110.1 percent), Indonesia (up 117.8 percent), and the Philippines (up 54.1 percent).
Agoda, a travel platform, said that Korean tourists are "falling in love" with Viet Nam's wonderful coastal cities and resort islands with fine sand beaches and clear and blue water.
Accordingly, Korean tourists favor the top four destinations of Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hoi An and Phu Quoc. These are all famous locations with beautiful beaches, luxury resorts and many attractive tourist activities. Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is ranked 5th on the list of most popular Vietnamese destinations for Korean tourists.
Besides, the number of visitors from Europe to Viet Nam witnessed high growth (57.1 percent) thanks to the nation's new visa policy.
According to Agoda, Viet Nam ranked third among Asian destinations most attractive to European tourists based on accommodation searches.
The Southeast Asian nation recorded a 66 percent increase in searches from European visitors, only behind Malaysia (up 89 percent) and Japan (up 71 percent).
Some countries in Europe with the highest number of searches for Viet Nam tourism in April this year included France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain.
Meanwhile, the three destinations in Viet Nam most sought by European tourists are Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam and Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa.
This year, Viet Nam eyes to welcome 17-18 million international visitors, and serve 110 million domestic ones. Total tourism revenue is targeted at around VND840 trillion (US$34.6 billion)./.
