Vietnam’s tourism sector targets around 20 million international tourist arrivals by 2020, double the current number, according to a master plan designed to turn the sector into a economic spearhead of the nation.

International tourists arrive in HCM city.

The local tourism sector is expected to attain revenue of US$35 billion, contribute 11-12% to the nation’s gross domestic product, and create four million jobs in the next four years, said Ngo Hoai Chung, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism at the Food and Hotel Vietnam 2017 fair in HCMC on April 25.

In addition to diversifying tourism products, enhancing the standards of services and streamlining visa procedures, the country has doubled its budget for tourism promotion from US$2.5 million in 2016 to around US5 million.

Chung said part of the budget will be spent to promoting the image of Vietnamese tourism via major media outlets around the world.

The sector is striving to lure visitors from Northeast Asian source markets like Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as from Southeast Asian and Western European nations.

More than 240,000 visitors from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy which are exempt from Vietnam entry visa came to Vietnam in the first three months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 12%, he added.

Meanwhile, the number of travelers from the Southeast Asian market has increased significantly, according to Do Hong Xoan, chairman of the Vietnam Hotel Association.

In particular, tourists from Cambodia took the lead in the first quarter, with a rise of 35%, followed by those from Laos with 33%, Malaysia with 20%, the Philippines with 18%, Thailand with 18%, Indonesia with 14%, and Singapore with 4%.

She ascribed the robust growth to closer ties within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and more favorable travel conditions.

SGT