Impressions of tourism in Vietnam in the first half of 2019

According to information released at a press conference on Tuesday (July 9th) by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first six months of 2019 increased by 7.5% compared to the same period last year, reaching nearly 8.5 million people. In addition, total tourism revenue also increased compared to the first half of 2018, reaching an impressive 338,200 billion VND.

According to Mr. Vu Quoc Tri, Chief of the Office of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the tourism industry has achieved many important accomplishments in the past six months, including organizing the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2019; actively promoting Vietnam's image at the US-North Korea Summit; participating in six international tourism fairs; opening the first tourism promotion representative office in South Korea under a joint venture model, etc.

However, despite the successes achieved, there are still many limitations that need improvement, such as shortcomings in ensuring environmental hygiene and waste pollution; accidents at tourist destinations during peak seasons and festivals; and laxness in the awareness of law compliance among some individuals and organizations operating in the industry.

According to Mr. Vu Quoc Tri, Vietnam's tourism sector will continue to boost the number of both international and domestic tourists in the last six months of 2019. This year, the tourism industry expects to welcome approximately 17.5 to 18 million international visitors and 85 million domestic visitors, striving to achieve total revenue of 700,000 billion VND.

Hai Anh