VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is expected to welcome one million Russian tourists by 2020, tripping the current level, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Nguyen Quoc Hung, deputy head of VNAT, attributed this projection to the strong growth in recent years. The number of Russian visitors coming to Vietnam is projected to exceed 350,000 next year.

“The tourism sector will come up with many promotional programs to lure more tourists from Russia who potentially stay longer and spend more," Hung said.

VNAT and many local tourism agencies will attend an expo and meet with business partners in Russia in the middle of this month. Vietnam will also participate in two similar events there early next year and also invite Russian tourism and news organizations to Vietnam to sound out the local tourism.

Hoang Thi Phong Thu, chairwoman of Anh Duong Co., said the company and its foreign partner Pegas Touristik are jointly seeking to boost the tourism market.

Both Anh Duong and Pegas Touristik this month will offer free airfares, hotel rooms and catering services for a number of tourism promotion agencies in Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces and help them meet with business partners in Russia.

The two companies will conduct chartered flights to take Russian visitors to HCMC at the end of this year and create favorable conditions for other Russian partners to look into tourism potential in Vietnam. They will also work together to attract an estimated 250,000 Russian tourist arrivals by the end of this year.

Representatives of Pegas Touristik said the firm plans to take one million Russian tourists to Vietnam in the next five years.

SGT/VNN