Viet Nam's tourism sector plans to receive 8 million international tourists this year. — Photo canthotv.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub)  — The number of foreign arrivals in Viet Nam in March is estimated at 709,700, down 15.7 per cent compared to last month, but up 20.8 per cent year over last year.

This has raised the total number of international visitors to the country in the first quarter of this year to over 2.3 million, a year-on-year rise of 29.3 per cent, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The largest increases in the number of arrivals were of visitors from Germany, Russia, China, Cambodia and Spain.

Viet Nam's tourism sector plans to receive 8 million international tourists, serve 37.5 million domestic tourists and earn VND230 billion, or US$10.8 million, this year.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has devised a plan for 2014, based on the strategy and the master plan on developing tourism towards 2020, with a vision to 2030 and the national action plan on tourism for the 2013-2020 period.

It will focus on improving the quality of tourism products and services, addressing the sector's shortcomings and organising the National Tourism Year 2014 in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong and other regional provinces, as well as preparing for the National Tourism Year 2015 in the central Thanh Hoa Province.

In 2013, Viet Nam received 7,572,352 international tourists, a 10.6 per cent rise over 2012, bringing VND200 trillion, or $9.4 billion, for the State coffers. — VNS