For the first nine months of the year, Viet Nam saw more than 4.8 million foreign tourists and 25.5 million domestic travellers, earning VND110,000 billion (US$5.2 billion), up 15 per cent over the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The ministry said these figures were positive signs for the sector, although it pointed out a number of shortcomings and difficulties that the sector has had to address, including a lack of investment from the government.

The ministry suggested that Viet Nam should improve the quality and efficiency of tourism services, including a poor transport network, untrained staff, unattractive tourist products and a lack of relevant tourism promotions.-VNS