The tourism industry has contributed more and more to the Vietnamese economy as the number of foreign arrivals continued to soar sharply in the first quarter of 2017, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) under the UK-based Economist Group.

Statistics announced by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism showed that Vietnam received around 3.2 million foreign arrivals in the first quarter of this year, up 30.6% over the same period in 2016, demonstrating Vietnam as an attractive destination for international visitors.

According to the EIU, the application of electronic visa system from February 1 this year also contributed to promoting the number of international visitors to Vietnam. This measure has helped simplify entry procedures for tourists from more than 40 countries.

Easier visa procedures, in addition to the increasing presence of low-cost airlines such as VietJet, will also facilitate tourism in the coming months.

EIU said that the prestige of Vietnam as assessed by Asian tourists continues to increase sharply. 

Chinese tourists accounted for the largest number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam in the first quarter with 949,200 tourists, up 63.5% over the same period in 2016.

It was followed by the number of tourists from the Republic of Korea with 527,500 arrivals, up 29.3% over the same period in 2016 and Japan ranked third with 201,600 arrivals, up 4 .8%.

Outside of Asia, the United States posted the largest number of visitors to Vietnam with 179,700 visitors, up 9.1% compared to 2016.

The EIU stated that the Vietnamese Government is paying more attention to the impacts of tourism on the environment with the issuance of a code of conduct for tourists in March 2017, which explains to visitors about the importance of environmental protection efforts and respect for culture and local customs.

The Government of Vietnam also identifies tourism as one of the key sectors for economic development and assigns the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to draft a long-term development plan for the tourism industry scheduled to be announced in late April this year, the EIU said.

Nhan Dan