Vietnam rakes in 16.05 billion USD from tourism in nine months

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Vietnam earned some 394.2 trillion VND (16.05 billion USD) from tourism in the first nine months of this year, equivalent to 78% of the figure recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said the country welcomed over 1.8 million foreign tourists in the nine-month period, of which 1.2 million were recorded in the third quarter of this year, 2.5 times the figure in the previous quarter.

The Republic of Korea (RoK), the US and Asian countries like Cambodia, Japan, Singapore and Thailand are the biggest sources of tourists for Vietnam, the agency noted.

As of mid-September, international search volumes for aviation and lodging services in the Southeast Asian nation rose three times and 10 times, respectively, as compared with early March when the country had yet reopened its doors.

Domestic holidaymakers reached about 86.8 million in the nine months, surpassing the 85 million in 2019.

More and more Vietnamese are travelling abroad, with their search volume increasing four times from early March, targeting such countries as Thailand, Cambodia, Australia, the US, Indonesia, France and Malaysia.

Vietnam fully reopened borders to tourists from March 15. The country aims to welcome 5 million foreign arrivals this year./.

VNA