According to information released at a press conference on Tuesday (July 9) by the General Department of Tourism, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first 6 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 with an impressive figure of 338,200 billion VND.
According to Mr. Vu Quoc Tri, Chief of Office of the General Department of Tourism, in the past 6 months, the tourism industry has achieved many important achievements, including organizing the ASEAN Tourism Forum ATF 2019; actively promoting the image of Vietnam at the US - North Korea Summit; participating in 6 international tourism fairs; opening the first tourism promotion representative office in Korea under the joint model, etc.
However, in addition to the successes achieved, there are still many limitations that need to be improved, such as shortcomings in ensuring environmental sanitation and waste pollution; accidents at tourist destinations during peak seasons and festivals; and laxity in law enforcement awareness of some individuals and organizations operating in the industry.
According to Mr. Vu Quoc Tri, Vietnam tourism in the last 6 months of 2019 will continue to boost the number of both international and domestic tourists. This year, the tourism industry is expected to welcome about 17.5 to 18 million international visitors, 85 million domestic visitors, striving to achieve a total revenue of 700,000 billion VND.
