(VOVWORLD) - Along with its impressive economic recovery, Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for foreign tourists. In the first quarter of this year, foreign arrivals to Vietnam were double the number in the same period last year. It’s even up 3.2% from 2019, before the pandemic.
 Ha Long Bay is a popular tourist attraction |
The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism reported early this month that Vietnam welcomed more than 4.6 million foreign visitors in the first quarter. The number of international arrivals was spread evenly over the first 3 months.
Full recovery since pandemic
Vietnam’s tourism sector has fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Nguyen Huy Hoang, CEO of the online travel services platform Klook Vietnam, says foreign visitors increased in number and also in their spending, which was up 13%.
Vietnam’s top 5 markets are South Korea, Taiwan (China), Singapore, Hong Kong (China) and the Philippines. The most impressive growth has been in emerging markets. According to Klook, Indonesian tourists led with 8-fold growth, followed by Taiwan (China) with a 5-fold increase, and Europe with 4-fold growth. These numbers show that Vietnam has met increasingly diverse needs of international tourists.
Some foreign visitors said:
“I come to Da Nang whenever I can. Da Nang has many beautiful beaches and an active foreign community. I can do many things I enjoy, such as practicing yoga. It’s easy to go out at night, enjoy live music, see many landmarks, beautiful cities, and people. And the weather is great.”
“I'm actually very impressed with Vietnam. I just arrived in Ho Chi Minh City and haven’t had a chance to visit other places yet but am very impressed with how developed things are here. Of course, I also heard a lot about the kindness of the Vietnamese people and I experienced it many times myself.”
 Hue ancient citadel draws a lot of foreign tourists |
Leveling-up Vietnam’s tourism sector
The sharp increase in foreign arrivals has been due to diversified tourism products. Klook said that, in addition to traditional tourism products, many foreign tourists are interested in entertainment complexes like Sun World, Vin Wonders, Vinpearl Safari, and Hoi An Theme Park, and new tours like the new day tour of Ha Long Bay offered by 5-star Cozy Bay Premium Cruise, and a day tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels Relic Site and the Mekong Delta tour from Ho Chi Minh City.
High-end cruises have recorded particularly strong growth. Since the beginning of the year 20 cruise ships have brought some 20,000 visitors to Tien Sa port to visit Da Nang, Hue, and Quang Nam and 15 more cruise ships have brought tens of thousands of visitors to Nha Trang. The Royal Caribbean Group says Vietnam is one of the three favorite destinations of cruises to Southeast Asia. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, says the figures reflect the improved quality of Vietnamese tourism.
“Vietnamese tourism is turning a new page. High-end and diverse products are attracting higher-quality tourists,” said Sieu.
This year Vietnam's tourism sector has organized promotion campaigns in key markets, built around cultural performances and film screenings, and has organized a "Vietnam Day" in several countries.
According to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, its website vietnam.travel has surpassed Thailand and other regional countries in popularity. Digital communication is becoming a priority in order to achieve the industry’s target of welcoming 18 million international visitors this year.