A rather surprising information about Viet Nam’s tourism sector during the Lunar New Year (Tet) 2024 is the explosive development of the sector throughout the country. Almost at all Vietnamese localities, especially familiar places for domestic and international tourists such as Ha Noi, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, and Sapa welcomed an exceedingly high number of tourists which brought in "huge" revenue for these places.

A beautiful check-in spot located at the East Sea Park, Son Tra District, Da Nang, for local residents and tourists. Photo: X.S

Most notably, the Da Nang Department of Tourism said that during the 7-day Tet break which started from February 8 - 14, the "livable city" welcomed more than 400,000 tourists, including 177,000 foreigners, an increase of 37% from the same period last year, helping the city earn an estimated VND 1,580 billion in revenue. The majority of visitor arrivals in Da Nang during Tet were solo travelers who accounted for about 60%-70% of the city’s total tourists, and the busiest days in the city were from the 2^nd to the 5^th of the Lunar New Year. Tourists concentrated to stay in four to five star-rated hotels or the equivalent rated accommodation facilities in coastal areas. Domestic visitors mainly came from such localities as Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Nam, Thua Thien- Hue while the majority of international tourist came from South Korea, Taiwan (China), Japan, India, Thailand, and other countries worldwide.

During the 7- day period, Phu Quoc island city in the southern province of Kien Giang received about 52,000 international visitors, nearly 6 times higher than in the same period the previous year, bringing in a revenue of more than VND 1,100 billion, 8 times higher than this time last year. The number of domestic visitors reached nearly 140,000 which was similar to the figure recorded in 2023.

It is also positive sign of Viet Nam’s tourism recovery, reflecting the significant growth in the number of tourists, especially oversea visits, across familiar places for tourists, bringing in huge revenue for these places.

According to domestic tourism experts, a great surge in international visitor arrivals to Viet Nam is mainly attributed to new visa policy for foreign tourists visiting Viet Nam who have been subjected to a new visa policy since August 15, 2023, with notable changes including the issuance of 90-day e-visas and an increase in the temporary stay period for people entering the country under unilateral visa exemption to 45 days. Furthermore, Viet Nam has been selected as a host destination for international events, including music shows, as well as created effective cultural heritage marketing to attract tourists to make it more inviting to foreign tourists.

Even in the first days of the Lunar New Year, and the first two months of 2024 as a whole, Viet Nam’s tourism industry has shown very positive signs, appearing to signal optimism in the sector in the coming time. Of course, the country’s "smokeless industry" still continues its efforts to unlock its full potential to make it stronger and ready for future, as well as spur the nation’s economy.

Positive outcomes Viet Nam’s tourism industry have made during Tet will spur the growth and development of the country’s tourism, and its economy as a whole in the future. Over the past decade, Viet Nam’s tourism has shined on the regional and world tourism map as it has earned official recognition on the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) list.

Specifically, Viet Nam ranked sixth in the top 10 fastest-growing tourist destinations in the world in 2017, ranked third globally in the top 10 most visited destinations by international tourist arrivals in 2018. Since  2017, Viet Nam has continuously received prestigious awards from the World Travel Awards. In detail, Viet Nam has been named Asia's Leading Destination in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, won "Asia's leading nature destination" title for two consecutive years (2022 and 2023), as well as has been honored as Asia’s Best Golf Destination for 4 consecutive years (from 2017 to 2020), and more awards.

Viet Nam’s tourism has gradually recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, and has won numerous international prestigious awards, as well as gained successes in recent years, especially after the Politburo issued Resolution No. 08 dated January 16, 2017 on developing tourism into a key economic sector. The very encouraging results achieved by Viet Nam’s tourism in the first two months of 2024, especially during recent Tet Festival, will certainly propel its growth, as well as help the country continue to shine on the regional and world tourism map.

Reporting by NGUYEN TRI THUC – Translating by H.L