Viet Nam scored the fastest growth in tourist arrivals in Southeast Asia last year, receiving some 2.9 million international visitors, up 29.1 per cent from the previous year, according to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

HCM City Municipal Theatre.

Other countries in the region to see a significant increase were Myanmar (18.4 per cent) and Brunei (18.3 per cent).

Viet Nam’s market share of international arrivals in the region was 4 per cent.

Thailand remained the region’s most popular destination with around 35.4 million international arrivals.

In general, 2017 was another record year for the travel industry with international tourist numbers increasing by 6.8 per cent globally, the highest rate since the 2009 global economic crisis and well above UNWTO’s long-term forecast of 3.8 per cent a year in 2010-2020.

Southeast Asia received 120.4 million visitors, with the growth rate increasing to 8.6 per cent from 6.3 per cent in 2016, the highest in Asia. — VNS