Tourism receives positive signals from the beginning of the year of the Dragon

One of the destinations that tourists choose to travel to at the beginning of the year is Tam Coc - Bich Dong (Ninh Binh province). This is a place located in the Trang An World Heritage Complex with unique natural landscape values that nature has bestowed, along with cultural and historical values.

Trang An tourist complex attracts a large number of tourists from the beginning of 2024. (Photo: Ninhbinh.gov)

Tam Coc tourist area is located in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. Tam Coc means 3 caves, including Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba. All 3 caves are formed by the Ngo Dong river cutting through the mountain. The most impressive and attractive time for tourists is in April and May when the rice fields are golden yellow.

Tam Coc Tourist Area is considered by domestic and international tourists as a safe, friendly and hospitable destination.

Responding to VTC News on the afternoon of February 25, Mr. Pham Duy Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Ninh Binh province, said that in the first days of the new year 2024, the number of tourists to Tam Coc - Bich Dong has increased.

“Although there are no specific statistics yet, compared to the same period in 2023, the number of tourists coming to Ninh Binh in the first days of the new year of Giap Thin 2024 increased by about 150%. This is a very positive signal for Ninh Binh tourism in particular, and the tourism and service industry in general,” said Mr. Phong.

Many beach tourist destinations attract visitors during Tet.

On the same day, informing VTC News, Ms. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, Director of Khanh Hoa Province Department of Tourism, said that in January 2024, the total number of visitors served by tourist accommodation establishments is estimated at 721,500, an increase of 110.2% over the same period in 2023. Of which, international visitors are estimated at 520,000, 6 times higher than the same period; domestic visitors are estimated at 201,500, down 22% over the same period. Tourism revenue is estimated at VND 3,869.1 billion, an increase of 98.4% over the same period.

“Entering February and especially the days after Lunar New Year, although there are no specific statistics yet, it is forecasted that the number of tourists coming to Khanh Hoa will be relatively large, increasing by about 130% compared to January.

In the coming time, we will continue to strengthen the implementation of communication activities, promote and stimulate demand to attract tourists to Khanh Hoa. In addition to focusing on promoting some traditional markets such as China and Korea, Khanh Hoa tourism industry will also promote some international tourist markets to diversify the source of tourists to Khanh Hoa such as Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan...", Ms. Thanh said.

Responding to VTC News, Mr. Tran The Dung, General Director of Vietluxtour Travel Company, said that since the beginning of the new year, the company has welcomed and processed procedures for many foreign tourist groups to travel to Vietnam and other countries in the Indochina region.

According to Mr. Dung, in the first days of the new year, although the number of tourists was not really crowded, the number had increased by about 30% compared to the same period in 2023, showing that the tourism and service market is recovering positively.

“The tours that foreign tourists choose are to Vietnam’s coastal tourist destinations such as Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), Da Nang, Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan), Con Dao – Vung Tau (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang). At the same time, tourists also choose to travel across Vietnam and to Indochina countries,” said Mr. Dung.

According to statistics from the General Department of Tourism, in January 2024, the number of international tourists to Vietnam reached more than 1.5 million, an increase of 10.3% compared to December 2023 and an increase of 73.6% compared to the same period in 2023.

“This figure is the highest since Vietnam reopened tourism in March 2022, equivalent to the number of international visitors to Vietnam in January 2019 before the pandemic,” the General Department of Tourism said.

Notably, by means of arrival, the number of visitors arriving by air reached 1.29 million, up 10.2% over the same period in 2019; the number of visitors arriving by sea reached 48.3 thousand, double that of the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of visitors arriving by road only reached 60% compared to the same period in 2019.

Many domestic tourist destinations attract international visitors at the beginning of the new year. (Photo: General Department of Tourism)

In terms of market size, South Korea continued to be the largest market sending visitors in January with 418,000 arrivals (accounting for 27.6%); China ranked second, reaching 242,000 arrivals; Taiwan (third) with 84,000 arrivals and the US ranked fourth with 76,000 arrivals.

In the following positions, the Australian market rose to 5th place with 62,000 arrivals, followed by Japan with 61,000 arrivals, Malaysia with 49,000 arrivals, India with 46,000 arrivals, Thailand ranked 9th with 41,000 arrivals and Cambodia ranked 10th with 37,000 arrivals.

Vietnam's largest tourist markets in Europe include: UK 294,000 arrivals, France 241,000 arrivals, Germany 228,000 arrivals and Russia 196,000 arrivals.

By continent, Asia increased slightly by 4.3% compared to the previous month, while other regions grew strongly: America increased by 27.3%; Europe increased by 26.6%, Australia increased by 68.5% and Africa increased by 35.2%.

According to the guest market, the main growth drivers in January 2024 came from several major markets such as: South Korea increased by 12.2% compared to the previous month; China increased by 3.4%; the US increased by 28.9%; Australia increased by a remarkable 67.7%.

In particular, January 2024 witnessed very good growth from European markets enjoying unilateral visa exemption policies such as: UK (37.4%), France (18.6%), Germany (25.0%), Italy (62.9%), Russia (41.2%), Denmark (74.1%), Sweden (55.9%), Norway (47.4%).

"This growth shows the clear impact of the policy of increasing the length of stay from 15 days to 45 days for 13 countries that are unilaterally exempted from visas under Resolution 128/NQ-CP of the Government, effective from August 15, 2023. Thus, welcoming more than 1.5 million international visitors in the first month of 2024 is a very good sign for the Vietnamese tourism industry, creating motivation and confidence to strive to achieve the goal of welcoming 17-18 million international visitors in 2024," the General Department of Tourism assessed.

PHAM DUY

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