More tourists from China have visited Ho Chi Minh City than visitors from any other countries have in 2017, the municipal tourism department said on Thursday.
The southern Vietnamese metropolis has welcomed 25 million domestic tourists, and nearly 6.4 million international holidaymakers in the year to date, La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the municipal tourism department, told reporters at a meeting.
Of these, some 600,000 were from China, up around 200,000 from last year, Khanh said, citing the department’s statistics.
The second biggest source of international tourists for Ho Chi Minh City is South Korea, Khanh said, without providing a specific number.
The number of Korean visitors to Vietnam is expected to reach two million by year-end, he added.
The Vietnamese city has also enjoyed healthy growth from other ‘traditional’ markets, including Russia, Taiwan, Japan and the U.S.
Ho Chi Minh City now looks to increase international arrivals by 25 percent to 7.5 million next year, according to Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the tourism department.
The city’s tourism sector will focus on developing such products as river and community tourism, as well as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Events) packages.
It will conduct regular activities at the iconic Nguyen Hue Walking Street and host such events as Ao Dai Festival or international marathon races.
