Of the total, visitors from Asia made up the lion’s share at 76 percent, up nearly 10 percent year-on-year.

Most of Vietnam’s key tourist markets in the region, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore, followed an upward trend. China, however, recorded a slight fall of 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of tourists from Europe and America were estimated to have picked up by 5.9 and 4.9 percent from the same period last year, respectively.

During the five-month period, the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam by air and road recorded increases while that of those travelling on waterways decreased.

In May alone, over 1.3 million foreign holidaymakers travelled to Vietnam, down 9.7 percent from the previous month.–VNA

Those forcing tourists to buy goods to be fined $128

As per the government’s latest decree No.45/2019/ ND-CP on administrative fine in tourism, those who invite tourists with insistence or force tourists to buy goods will receive a fine from VND1 million to VND3 million ($128).  

Korean tourists to Vietnam top 1 million in first quarter

Tourist arrivals from the Republic of Korea (RoK) to Vietnam exceeded 1 million in the first quarter of 2019, revealed the Korea Tourism Organisation on May 16.  

Vietnam's tourism going the wrong way: Tourists prefer green travel, not skyscrapers

More and more international-standard resorts and hotels have arisen in Vietnam, but these facilities are not what foreign travelers want. They visit Vietnam to ‘return to nature’.