Domestic tourist numbers surpass preset targets

The figures were unveiled at a press conference held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Culture Newspaper on Tuesday to announce the voting of the sector's top ten events this year.

Meanwhile, international arrivals remain low, with only 2.95 million in 11 months. 

The tourism sector had booked some VND456.7 trillion in revenue in the year through November, equivalent to 70 percent of the same period in 2019, thanks to the whopping number of domestic tourists.

The organizer said, given COVID-19-induced impacts and an unsatisfactory recovery of the international tourist segment, the number of domestic travelers even far exceeded the 85 million mark posted in 2019.

According to Assoc. Prof-Dr. Pham Hong Long, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the COVID-19 pandemic shows that Viet Nam's tourism was too dependent on international revenue while the huge domestic market has been left untapped.

In 2022, the tourism industry aims to welcome 65 million visitors, including five million international arrivals, bringing in revenue of VND400 trillion. Domestic tourism is still the industry's key market./.