Vietnam expects to welcome 13 million foreign visitors this year

Foreign tourists visit a tourism site in Hanoi. (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it will propose the Government revise the target of international tourists to 12.5-13 million from only 8 million this year, a 56% increase from the plan set at the beginning of the year.

The proposal is based on positive signs in September as the country welcomed more than 1.05 million foreign visitors, marking the third consecutive month the figure has surpassed the 1 million mark.

In the first nine months of this year, the tourism industry served 8.9 million foreign holidaymakers, and 93.5 million domestic tourists, pocketing some 536.5 trillion VND (22.07 billion USD), according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

The Republic of Korea (RoK) remained the biggest source of tourists to Vietnam in the nine-month period with nearly 2.6 million, followed by China and Taiwan (China). In Europe, the UK, France and Germany were the biggest markets for Vietnam’s tourism.

With the peak season for international tourism around the corner, the industry expects a surge in the number of foreign vacationers thanks to the new visa policy, which was put in place August 15.

Under the law, the e-visa validity period is extended to 90 days from 30 days. Foreigners can enter and exit Vietnam unlimited times and without having to apply for new visas. The law also permits citizens of the countries entitled to Vietnam’s unilateral visa exemption to be granted a temporary residence period of 45 days, instead of 15 days like in the past, and have visa granting and temporary residence extensions considered in line with regulations.

VNAT’s website at https://vietnam.travel/ has continued promoting tourism products and destinations, and major events. Meanwhile, localities have persified tourism products and stepped up promotion activities to attract both domestic and foreign holidaymakers in the remaining months of this year.

Notably, there will be Hue Festival 2023 – Winter Festival in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and Ban Gioc Waterfall Festival in the northern province of Cao Bang this month.

In Hanoi, the Hanoi Gift Show 2023, which kicked off on October 1, is treating visitors to a wide range of local handicrafts and exhibitors to myriad opportunities for business links and market expansion./.