Nearly 894,000 people visited Viet Nam from mainland China in the first eight months of this year, a 9.7 per cent drop from the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

HCM City-based Lien Bang Travelink said the number of Chinese tourists it served dropped by 30 per cent, while Da Nang-based Vitours said numbers have dropped sharply from more than 100,000 last year.

Last year more than 1.4 million Chinese came to the country, a year-on-year increase of 56.5 per cent.

Around 30 per cent normally come by road, 58 per cent by air, and the rest by sea.

The tourism industry organised a promotion in Guangzhou City last month and is set to hold road shows in the cities of Xian and Tianjin in November. The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism plans to invite Chinese media outlets to Viet Nam. — VNS