Vietnam to welcome 10 millionth foreign visitor in 2016

The tourism sector will host the 10 millionth foreign visitor to Vietnam at the Phu Quoc international airport in the southern coastal province of Kien Giang on December 25.

The same day, a ceremony will take place to round off the 2016 National Tourism Year, which was designated to draw visitors to Phu Quoc island and the Mekong Delta region.

Experts said the tourism year is a key move in turning Kien Giang into a tourism hub in the Mekong Delta region with Phu Quoc island as a leading resort destination of Vietnam.

In 2016, more than 5.4 million tourists visited Kien Giang, increasing 24 percent year on year and exceeding the yearly quota by 9.5 percent. Of the figure, international arrivals grew 31.4 percent annually, 14 percent higher than initial plan.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the country expects to welcome over 10 million international arrivals and serve more than 62 million domestic travelers this year, with total revenue estimated at 400 trillion VND (18 billion USD). 

On January 1, 2017, Vietnam will begin issuing e-visa for foreign tourists.

As such, the tourism sector has set goals of 11.5 million foreign visitors and revenue of 460 trillion VND (20.24 billion USD) in 2017.