The closing ceremony of the 2019 National Tourism Year. — VNA/VNS Photo Phan Sáu
KHÁNH HÒA — The 2019 National Tourism Year themed 'Colour of the Sea' has ended in success, with a record number of international visitors and various prizes won by the tourism sector.
The 2019 National Tourism Year concluded with a grand ceremony last Saturday in the south central province of Khánh Hòa, which was the host of the year.
Speaking at the event, head of the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyễn Trùng Khánh said the year saw 18 million foreign arrivals.
It is the highest figure so far and a year-on-year rise of 16.2 per cent, according to the General Statistics Office.
Tourists from Asia made up 79.9 per cent of the total, up 19.1 per cent, while European arrivals rose 6.4 per cent, the Americas up 7.7 per cent and Africa 12.2 per cent.
The VNAT said the country served 85 million domestic holidaymakers in the year, up more than 6 per cent.
In 2019, Việt Nam was honoured with various tourism awards.
At the 26th World Travel Awards (WTA), Việt Nam was honoured as the World’s Leading Heritage Destination 2019.
The country was chosen as Asia’s Leading Culinary Destination at the WTA awards for Asia and Oceania in October and also received the World’s Best Golf Destination 2019 award at the international World Golf Awards held in the UAE the same month.
Việt Nam’s tourism competitiveness has improved, standing 63rd among 140 economies in the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranking.
In 2020, the country strives to welcome approximately 20.5 million international tourists, and 90 million domestic ones. The tourism sector aims to gross over VNĐ830 trillion (US$35.9 billion) in revenue.
As host of 2019 National Tourism Year, Khánh Hòa Province has held nearly 60 events throughout the year, including the ninth Nha Trang – Khánh Hòa Sea Festival, the 2019 Miss Universe Vietnam finals and Challenge Việt Nam 2019.
Khánh Hòa Province’s efforts have paid off with a 27.5 per cent increase in the number of international arrivals to 3.6 million and a 24 per cent rise in tourism revenue to more than VNĐ27 trillion.
At the ceremony, Khánh Hòa Province handed over the hosting role of National Tourism Year to the northern province of Ninh Bình, which will chair the 2020 National Tourism Year under the theme of 'Hoa Lư – Thousand-Year-Old Ancient Capital'. — VNS
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