VietNamNet Bridge – Tens of thousands of local and international visitors headed to Vietnamese destinations during Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday, which fell on February 19 this year.

HCM City travel firms served more than 58,000 tourists in the city during Tet, an increase of 39 per cent over the previous Tet, bringing total revenue of VND540 billion (US$25.32 million), a surge of 50 per cent over the previous Tet, according to the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

More than 30,000 tourists visited the mountainous town of Sapa in the northern province of Lao Cai during Tet, with more than 5,000 hotel rooms in the town booked.

Tourism improved after the opening of the Ha Noi – Lao Cai Highway last year, which facilitated travel from Ha Noi and other provinces in the northern delta to Lao Cai Province.

In the central province of Thua Thien – Hue, there were more than 75,000 tourists during Tet, a rise of 15 per cent over the same period last year. The figure includes 40,000 foreigners.

More than 30,000 guests visited during the first three days of the Lunar New Year, mostly due to free entrance tickets for Vietnamese tourists to historical sites in the province.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Star Pride cruise operated by Destination Asia Viet Nam Company, carrying 190 international visitors, arrived at Tien Sa Port in the central city of Da Nang.

Another flight from Seoul carrying 180 international tourists arrived at Da Nang International Airport on the same day.

The number of foreign visitors to Da Nang reached 66,000 out of 200,000 tourists to the city during Tet.

Due to a long holiday this year, tourists also visited other tourist destinations in Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa and Phan Thiet in the central province of Binh Thuan.

The central province of Khanh Hoa welcomed an estimated 150,000 tourists during the first six days of the Lunar New Year. Most tourists preferred sightseeing and island tours off Nha Trang Bay.

Also, seven chartered flights, carrying nearly 1,000 Chinese tourists from Kunming in China, arrived in Nha Trang during Tet.

Most of the foreign tourists were from China, Russia, Japan, France and the US.

Source: VNS