Foreign visitors to Vietnam up 20pct in first quarter

Arrivals from Asia stood at an estimated 1.685 million, 25 percent higher year on year, and accounting for 68.5 percent of the total. Visitors from neighboring China led the trend with around 580,500, jumping 65.9 percent, and were followed by South Korea with an estimated 408,100 visitors, rising 30.2 percent year on year, and Japan with 192,400, up 11.8 percent compared to the first quarter last year.

Visitors from Europe increased 11 percent to an estimated 447,300, accounting for 18.2 percent of the total, followed by arrivals from North and South America with about 220,800, up 11.4 percent, and from the Australasian region with 100,100 visitors, up 4.3 percent from the same period in 2015.

Visitors from the United States alone rose 14.3 percent to about 164,700, while visitors from the United Kingdom stood at about 68,700, up 23.3 percent year on year, and arrivals from Australia alone increased 7.3 percent to some 92,000 in the first quarter, according to the data.

Foreign arrivals by air were estimated at 1.986 million, up 16.8 percent year on year, and accounting for 80.7 percent of total visitors during January-March. The arrivals by road also saw a rise for the quarter of 50.5 percent to an estimated 435,600, but arrivals by sea fell 40.1 percent to 37,000.