In the first eight months of this year, the country is estimated to have received 6.45 million international visitors, a year-on-year increase of 25.4 per cent. — Photo VNA

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam will receive nearly 900,000 international visitors this month, a 27.7 per cent increase compared with the same period last year, the Viet Nam General Department of Tourism stated.

Of this figure, more than 779,000 visitors, or 86.6 per cent, will travel to the country by air. Meanwhile, a sharp rise in the number of visitors arriving by sea and over land has been seen, with 12,528 visitors and 108,202 visitors, respectively, being recorded – a year-on-year increase of 120.6 per cent and 102.4 per cent.

In the first eight months of this year, the country is estimated to have received 6.45 million international visitors, a year-on-year increase of 25.4 per cent. Meanwhile, it is expected to gain 43.1 million domestic visitors during the period.

The tourism sector's revenue is forecast to touch nearly VND265.2 trillion (US$1.9 billion), 22.5 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Hotel market

According to a report on hotels and second homes in the Vietnamese market in the second quarter of this year, released by CBRE Vietnam Co, Ltd, on August 23, Viet Nam has proven itself to be an up-and-coming destination for international arrivals, as seen in the sharp increase in foreign arrivals and 65 per cent occupancy rates in HCM City and 75 per cent in Ha Noi, as of June 2016.

The report said that the country's visa exemption policy prompted a surge in international visitors arriving in Viet Nam. The country's hotel market continues to see improvements in performance and has experienced strong growth. World-class international hotel operators such as Accor, IHG, Marriott, Hilton and Starwood continue to target Viet Nam.

There are also a number of large-scale projects underway by major local developers, such as Vingroup and Sun Group, which help to create and expand tourism clusters in coastal cities such as Da nang, Nha Trang and, most recently, Phu Quoc, with some 200 licences awarded in 2015. Several international hotel chains and operators recently entered Viet Nam for the first time, including Wyndham, Holiday Inn, and Pan Pacific.

In terms of customer preferences, CBRE noted that budget travelers tended to move from four-star to three-star hotels with similar quality and services but lower rates, while high-end travelers chose five-star hotels that offered good promotional packages instead of four-star hotels. The increasing supply of business hotels caters to the increasing demand from business travelers to Viet Nam's cities.

The country's hotel market will see the five-star hotel and resort sector getting busy with strong growth as more five-star hotels are expected to open in HCM City by 2017, while Ha Noi is to welcome nearly 1,000 new hotel rooms from five-star hotels, including Landmark 72, which is expected to open at the end of 2016. Van Mieu Mercure Hotel is under construction, while Vietinbank Tower and Hilton Hanoi Westlake are scheduled to open in the next two years, in addition to Starwood Group, which plans to open six new hotels and resorts across Viet Nam between 2016 and 2019. — VNS