— Photo ivivu.com

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)  —The number of foreign tourists taking tours in Viet Nam last month increased by 20.8 per cent compared to the same period last year, tourist companies report.

Nguyen Van Tuan, general director of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, said more than 722,300 foreign visitors arrived the country in the Lunar New Year month, an increase of 7.5 per cent compared to last December.

The country attracted more than 7.5 million foreign visitors last year, an increase of 10.6 per cent compared to 2012.

According to Tuan, the tourist industry is hoping to attract more than 8.3 million foreign visitors this year.

This Tet, Khanh Hoa Province attracted 153,500 visitors, an increase of 20 per cent compared to last season, earning around VND290 billion (US$14 million) in turnover.

"Travel agencies have launched several special tours at affordable prices to satisfy the increased travelling demands of both Vietnamese tourists and foreigners," Phan Thanh Truc, deputy director of the Khanh Hoa's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Kien Giang Province, more than 122,700 foreign visitors visited Kien Giang in 2013— mostly Russian, Japanese, Korean, Cambodian, and Chinese.

In only the first four days of Tet, which began last week, Phu Quoc Island attracted 2,759 foreign visitors.

In Da Nang, more than 10,000 foreign visitors from eight cruise ships flocked to local tourist sites during the Tet holiday, an increase of 34 per cent compared to the last season.

The province also attracted 8,400 foreign visitors via airplane.

In Da Lat, several thousand visitors flocked to famous tourist sites such as Xuan Huong Lake, Da Lat Market and Tinh Yeu Valley during the last week. Local hotels, lodges and restaurants were overloaded.

Accommodation prices have gone up by 50 to 200 per cent.

HCM City -based tourist agencies, including Saigontourist, Vietravel, Fiditourist and Cho Lon, attracted a great number of domestic tourists this season, due to the substantial increase in living standards. Their tours to local destinations were full.

Saigontourist served about 20,000 tourists while its competitor, Vietravel attracted 10,000 tourists on its local tours. Their tours to destinations in the Cuu Long region are fully booked for the next two weeks. — VNS