HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— HCM City reports that an estimated 246,340 overseas touristsvisited the city in July, an annual increase of 9 per cent, nearly 210,000 of them arriving by air.

July's figures have brought the total number of foreign arrivals to HCM City during the first seven months of the year to 2.1 million, up 5.5 per cent over the same period last year and achieving 53 per cent of the target set for 2013.

In July, the city's tourist industry is estimated to have made over VND6 trillion (US$285 million) in revenue, 15 per cent higher than the same period last year. The figures for the first seven months are expected to increase by 13 per cent to over VND47 trillion ($2.24 billion), accounting for 57.3 per cent of the total years plan. — VNS