Japan opens first tourism office in Vietnam

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has opened its first office in Vietnam as part of the two countries’ effort to boost tourism cooperation.

The office in Hanoi will assist Vietnamese travel agencies in bringing more tourists to Japan. There are only 15 similar Japanese offices in other countries.

Tourism officials hope to increase the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan from 233,800 last year to around 500,000 by 2018. Vietnam targets 1 million Japanese visitors, up from 740,000 last year.

Vietnam's fast-growing economy has created an increasingly large middle class who can now afford holidays overseas.

Ayumi Takahasi, a representative of JNTO in Hanoi, said that the office will organize a range of promotional activities in the coming time.

The Vietnam Tourism Association set up its first tourism representative office in Tokyo in 2014.