The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, together with tourism firms and hotel operators, will hold tourism promotion programs in six Western European cities: Milan and Rome (Italy), Valencia (Spain), Berlin and Frankfurt (Germany) and Amsterdam (Netherlands).

Foreign tourists disembark from a cruise ship. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, together with tourism firms and hotel operators, will hold tourism promotion programs in six Western European cities

According to the administration, the delegation will introduce tourism products and policies, especially a visa waiver for citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Early last month, the Government extended the visa exemption for visitors from these countries, which comes into force at the end of this month.

The Tourism Advisory Council says the number of tourists from the five countries has risen by 10.1%, helped by the visa waiver.

Vietnam attracted over 6.2 million international tourists in the first half of this year, a 30.2% rise versus the same period last year. Tourists from major source markets like China, South Korea, and European grew strongly, according to data of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The national tourism agency is striving to launch more promotion programs in these markets to increase foreign visitor arrivals by 30% to 13 million this year.

Thien Minh Travel JSC, a leading travel and hospitality group in Vietnam, said the tourism sector should adopt other strategies like marketing on Facebook and Instagram, and targets potential customers by offering particular products to better suit their tastes.

SGT