Domestic tourists number beats full-year target in 6 months

By Hoang Phong June 30, 2022 | 11:30 pm PT

Visitors gather on the walking streets around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, May 1, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh

There were 60.8 million domestic tourists in the first half of this year, 1.4 times the pre-pandemic number and already past the full-year target of 60 million.

June saw the highest monthly figure in recent years of 12.2 million, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Tourism revenues were however worth only VND265 trillion ($11.3 billion), or 66 percent of the year's target.

Ho Chi Minh City led the country with 11 million arrivals, 86 percent of the pre-pandemic figure.

It was followed by Hanoi (8.61 million) and HCMC's neighboring beach province Ba Ria-Vung Tau (6.98 million).

The demand for travel has been on the rise in recent months, according to data from Google's Destination Insights.

The number of searches related to domestic flights and accommodation increased by 500 percent year-on-year in June.

The 10 most searched tourist destinations were HCMC, Phu Quoc Island, Hanoi, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Vung Tau, Quy Nhon, Hue, and Phan Thiet.