Tourist sites and resorts in the Ham Tien-Mui Ne area, Phan Thiet city, the south central coastal province of Binh Thuan, are busy during last months of the year as many international tourists come here for their winter vacation.

The winter holiday lasts from October 2017 to March 2018, with tourists coming from both traditional markets like Russia and Germany and new ones such as the US, France, Sweden and Poland. 

Tran Van Sang, Deputy Director of Hoang Ngoc Resort, said his resort’s room occupancy rate in the last six months of 2017 hit 85 percent, as compared with 70 percent recorded in the same period last year. 

Zinke Elke from Germany said this is sixth time she and her husband have visited Mui Ne, adding that she has been attracted by the warm weather, good services and fresh air. 

Alina Ruzanova from Russia, who has been Binh Thuan for the first time, commented on the warm weather and hospitable locals, saying she will come back next time. 

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Binh Thuan welcomed about 5.2 million visitors in 2017, representing a year-on-year rise of 13 percent.

Of the number, 599,000 are foreigners, up 13 percent year-on-year, with 57,000 recorded in December and 160,000 in the last three months of this year. 

Binh Thuan earned nearly 11 trillion VND (484 million USD) from the tourism sector in 2017, up 20 percent against the previous year. 

Binh Thuan has 192 kilometres of coast with beautiful beaches, landscapes, clean environment, national historical – cultural relics and festivals.

It is home to more than 300 hotels, with 11,000 rooms and over 500 villas and apartments for tourists.

The locality expects to welcome around seven million tourists by 2020, contributing 10 percent to provincial GRDP.-VNA