HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam attracted over 8.8 million international visitors in the first half of 2024, up 4.1% from the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

In June alone, Việt Nam welcomed more than 1.2 million international tourists, a year-on-year rise of 28.1 per cent, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on June 29.

The increase was mainly attributed to the country’s favourable visa policy and enhanced tourism promotion programmes by provinces and centrally-run cities nationwide.

Of the total, the number of holidaymakers arriving at Việt Nam by air accounted for 83.8%, while those coming by road made up 14.3 per cent and by sea, 1.9 per cent.

Revenues from accommodation and restaurant services were estimated to go up by 15.2 per cent and from travel tourism increased by 37.1 per cent from the same period last year.

Since the beginning of the year, provinces and cities have stepped up tourism promotion and popularisation programmes to woo both domestic and foreign visitors.

Typically, the capital city of Hanoi has attracted more than 14 million visitors in the first six months, rising 13.7 per cent from a year earlier. That includes 3.16 million foreign arrivals, soaring 52.6 per cent year on year, statistics show.

The Việt Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) has also organised various activities to attract international visitors. It has been holding programmes to introduce Vietnam’s tourism in Paris (France), Milan (Italy) and Frankfurt (Germany) from June 24 to July 2.

Europe has been a key source of tourists for Việt Nam. Last year, Việt Nam served over 1.4 million European visitors, up 187 per cent from 2022.

The 2024 Việt Nam Culture and Tourism Festival in the Republic of Korea (RoK) will take place from June 29 to July 3, the VNAT said.

Within the framework of the festival, there will be a forum on tourism promotion and cultural cooperation between the two countries, a business meeting with the participation of Việt Nam's senior leaders, a space to promote the image of the Vietnamese country, people, and tourism culture, and art performances.

The VNAT said that this will be an opportunity for it, as well as localities, and businesses to introduce attractive policies, destinations, and products, and also a chance for enterprises to establish business cooperation and attract more Korean tourists.

Last year, Việt Nam welcomed 12.6 million foreign tourists, including 3.6 million Koreans, making the RoK top in the number of international visitors to Việt Nam.

Meanwhile, around 420,000 Vietnamese people chose the East Asian nation as their holiday destination. -- VNA/VNS