INTERNATIONAL VISITORS ON THE RISE

Of that number, 4.47 million visitors came by plane, up by 11 per cent; and 821,000 by car, up by 8.8 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The visitors include more than 1 million mainland Chinese, nearly 580,000 Koreans; 475,000 Japanese; 233,000 Malaysians and 185,000 French.

However, only 3.17 million of the 5.35 million international visitors came for tourism purposes, up by 8.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

More Japanese tourists expected

A delegation of Japan Association of Travel Agents has inspected tourist sites in northern provinces, aiming to help Viet Nam attract 1 million Japanese tourists in 2015.

According to Japanese travel agencies, destinations such as Phat Diem Cathedral and Tam Coc-Bich Dong in Ninh Binh Province, Ho Dynasty Citadel in Thanh Hoa Province and Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province are attractions for Japanese tourists. However, Ha Noi and its neighbouring provinces need to join hands and carry out promotions to offer more destinations for tourists instead of focusing on central provinces and HCM City.

According to the Viet Nam National Administration for Tourism, Japan is the third-largest market for Viet Nam's tourism, after China and South Korea. The country welcomed more than 418,000 Japanese visitors in the first nine months of 2012, a year-on-year increase of 24.5 per cent.

Night market opens for tourists

A night market has opened for tourists in Da Nang's Dien Bien Phu Street, deputy director of the Nguyen Kim trading company announced yesterday.

Nguyen Thi Thuy revealed the new market development, which includes a cuisine centre, shopping malls and an entertainment zone. It provides tourists with a variety of Vietnamese food and a 24 hour shopping service.

It becomes the second night-time destination for tourists in the city after the Con culinary centre.

Over the past nine months the central city has hosted 2.1 million tourists, of which 475,000 were foreigners. 

(Source: Vietnamnews)