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The 15 millionth international visitor to Vietnam was Mr. James Kopenec, an American citizen. Mr. James Kopecnec and nearly 3,000 passengers and crew on the 5-star Celebrity Millennium cruise ship of Royal Caribbean arrived at the port at 11:00 a.m. on December 19.
Along with the 15 millionth visitor, two other visitors numbered 14,999,999 and 15,000,001, from Belgium and Japan, were also presented with gifts and commemorative medals from the Vietnamese tourism industry by the organizers. These three lucky visitors came to Ha Long on a long cruise, following the route Singapore - Laemchabang - Phu My - Chan May - Ha Long - Hong Kong.
Calling this “a memorable day” for Vietnam tourism, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, shared: “Since the milestone of welcoming the 1 millionth international visitor in 1994, Vietnam tourism has had many strong growth steps. And the event of welcoming the 15 millionth international visitor is truly a proud milestone for the tourism industry, proving that Vietnam is increasingly becoming a friendly, attractive, safe destination, recognized by international friends. This is also a premise for Vietnam to continue to orient tourism development into a spearhead economic sector.”
Mr. James Kopenec, the 15 millionth lucky visitor, said he chose to travel to Vietnam because “Vietnam is really beautiful.” Paul, a tourist from Capetown (South Africa), shared: “This is the most beautiful port I have ever visited. It was spectacular. From the ship, we had a panoramic view of the islands. The scenery was very beautiful.”
According to statistics from the General Department of Tourism, in the first 11 months of 2018, the number of international visitors to Vietnam reached more than 14,123 million, an increase of 21.3% over the same period in 2017. Previously, in 2016, the number of international visitors to Vietnam exceeded 10 million for the first time. Then, in 2017, it reached 13 million visitors.
In 2018, tourism promotion and market expansion activities took place vigorously. Domestic tourism infrastructure was increasingly improved and service quality was enhanced, many Vietnamese tourism projects were awarded prestigious international awards... Therefore, the goal of Vietnam reaching 16 million international visitors for the whole year of 2018 is likely to become a reality.
