2017 was a very good year for Vietnam in terms of its tourism industry, based on the latest records by the General Statistics office which showed about 12.9 million international visitors who entered Vietnam in that particular year. This is equivalent to a 29.1% increase in tourist arrivals than in 2016.
December was the strongest month in which 1.28 million foreign tourists arrived in the country, or an 8.9% rise compared to November of the same year. This also saw a 42.2% year-on-year rise of visitors entering Vietnam.
Asian tourists drew up the biggest number with a 34.4% growth. Those from South Korea visited Vietnam the most with 56.4% rise, followed by Chinese tourists of 48.6%, Taiwan by 21.5%, Malaysia 17.9%, Thailand 13%, Singapore 8% and Japan 7.6%.
1.9 million European visitors arrived in Vietnam in 2017, equivalent to a 16.6% rise. Russian tourists took up the largest figure at 32.3%, followed by the five Western European countries which were granted the visa exemptions: Spain up by 20%, Germany by 13.6%, Italy by 13.2%, Netherlands 11.7%, United Kingdom by 11.3% and France by 6%.
Tourists from the Americas reached up to 817,000, an 11.1% increase from 2016. Of this number, United States visitors grew to 614,000, also an 11.1% year-on-year rise. 420,900 were Australian tourists, up by 14.3%. Those from Africa rose 25.6% or equal to 35,900 tourists visiting Vietnam in 2017.
Image by: http://nationaltimes.vn
A huge part of Vietnam’s tourism boom especially in 2017 has to do with its implementation of policies specifically targetted at attracting more tourists and investors into the country. Some of these include: promotions; launching Vietnam into the major international tourism markets such as Australia, Japan, Europe and ASEAN; establishing visa exemptions for five Western European countries; engaging in more foreign tourism activities; and receiving international tourism contingents.