Russian tourists arrive in Viet Nam. — Photo baodulich.net.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) —The amount of Russian tourists arriving in Viet Nam increased by 60 per cent in October despite a continuous decrease to most other major destinations abroad, according to the RBK – Russian news channel.

The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourist said a total of 24,000 Russian tourists visited Viet Nam in October, up from 15,000 during the same period last year.

Vitaliy V. Chizhikov, general director of Russian tour operator PAKS, said this increase was due to the launch of flights from Moscow to Viet Nam connecting to regional destinations.

Moreover, Aeroflot Russian Airlines has offered an attractive discount on round-trip tickets from Moscow to HCM City since late August-early September, with a ticket price decreased to 30 rubles.

The discount offer will last until October.

The number of Russian tourists arriving in Viet Nam was expected to decline at the beginning of 2015, due to the devaluation of the ruble in Russia late last year.

Russia is targeted as one of the key markets of Vietnam under the country's tourism development strategy through 2020 with a vision towards 2030.

In 2014, Viet Nam greeted 364,873 Russian visitors, a yearly rise of 22 per cent. The central Khanh Hoa province led all localities with nearly 270,000 Russian tourists.

Between 2009 and 2013, the number of Russian vacationers to Viet Nam increased from 29,000 in 2009 to more than 298,000 in 2013, recording an annual average growth of 59 percent.

Viet Nam ranked fourth in the top 10 most favourite destinations of Russian, after Egypt, Thailand, and Turkey.— VNS