VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam has welcomed 6.647 million international guests in 2012, up 9.5 against last year, which set a new record, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The country is expected to earn over US$6.6 billion in revenues from the non-smoke industry.  

Statistics showed that 4.17 million guests came to Viet Nam for tourism and convalescence purposes, posting a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. Up to 1.16 million others arrived in the country for business (up 16.2% against last year) and 1.15 million for visiting relatives (up 14.3%).

The GSO reported that 5.576 million people travelled by air; 285,500 others at sea; and 986,200 on road.  

The foreigners mainly came from China with 1.428 million (up 0.8%); the Republic of Korea 700,900 (up 30.7%); Japan 576,400 (up 19.7%) and the US 443,800 (up 0.9%).

Source: VGP