Viet Nam welcomes 4.6 million int’l guests in first five months

In May, the number of foreign entrants saw a month-on-month decline of 6.9 percent, but up 5.3 times against the same period last year. 

In the January-May period, the number of foreign arrivals saw a year-on-year increase of 12.6 times, equivalent to 63 percent of the same period in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. 

Of the total arrivals, over 4.045 million people travelled by air, up 12.6 times on year; 503,200 others came to Viet Nam by road, up 11.3 times; and 50,900 arrived by sea, up 535.5 times. 

In the reviewed period, Asian was the largest source of tourists with 3.4 million visitors, followed by Europe, Latin America. 

This year, Viet Nam targets to lure 110 million tourists, including 8 million foreigners, and earn around VND 650 trillion from tourism services. 

Since Viet Nam reopened its borders in March last year, the number of foreign tourists has remained low, prompting tourism industry insiders to urge visa relaxations to save the tourism industry.

In a bid to boost inbound tourism, the Government has proposed the National Assembly to prolong the duration of e-visas granted to foreigners entering Viet Nam from 30 days to a maximum of three months while e-visa should be valid for single-entry or multiple entries./.