Tourism to Vietnam was up sharply in January as the industry recovers from a severe downturn in 2009, an official at the General Statistics Office said Friday.
GSO official Pham Tien Nam said the country attracted 416,200 foreign travellers in January, up 11 per cent from December and 20 per cent year-on-year.
The recovery was led by visitors from neighbouring China, whose numbers grew 94 per cent year-on-year to 54,000. Arrivals from Australia, Canada, South Korea and the US also rose significantly.
The state-run Vietnam News reported Friday that the rise in Chinese arrivals was due to more aggressive marketing in China by Vietnamese tourism companies. China's strong economy, which grew over 8 per cent last year, also played a role.
Vietnam, once one of the fastest-growing tourist magnets in the region, saw a sharp fall last year for the first time in many years. It attracted only 3.8 million foreign visitors, down 11 per cent from 2008.
The 11-per-cent drop was much higher than average drop of 5 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region.
Some critics blamed the global financial crisis, but others blamed poor coordination between Vietnam's hotel, airline, and packaged tour industries.
Vietnam tourism rises on Chinese visitors
Tourism to Vietnam was up sharply in January as the industry recovers from a severe downturn in 2009, an official at the General Statistics Office said.
Source: dpa