Along with Japan and South Korea, Russia has emerged as a major market for Viet Nam's tourism industry.

The market has grown sharply in the last two years, with arrivals up 30 per cent in August, according to Nguyen Van Tuan, deputy chief of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Though the high season for foreign tourists is still weeks away, the coastal cities of Da Nang and Nha Trang receive 13 flights from Russia per week.

To promote tourism, Binh Thuan, Thua Thien-Hue, and Da Nang will take part in the Leisure Moscow 2012, an international tourism fair to be held in Russia from September 19 to 22.-VNS