HALONG BAY, Vietnam, 16 January 2019: Encouraged by a record tourist tally in 2018, Vietnam has set an ambitious 18 million target for tourist arrivals in 2019.
Vietnam National Administration of Tourism reported last month that tourist arrivals in 2018 grew 19.9% to reach 15.497 million, mainly due to a surge in travel from China.
Based on that performance tourism officials attending the ATF, this week, said 18 million trips in 2019 was within reach.
Revenue from tourism could surpass USD30 billion, while Vietnam’s domestic travel should top 85 million trips.
Speaking on the sidelines of ATF in an interview with Vietnam News, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien warned the country still faced major challenges to upgrade infrastructure, reduce seasonality booking disparity and reduce an over reliance on specific volume markets.
Certain markets in Northeast Asia remain top priorities such as China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, but more could be done to drive growth from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, the minster explained.
He pointed to the need to maintain an open-visa policy, strengthen airline connections, improve competitive capacity and build a positive image and branding for Vietnam.
