International arrivals to Vietnam inch down 0.2 percent, first decline in 6 years
International arrivals to Vietnam inch down 0.2 percent, first decline in 6 years
International visitors to Vietnam are estimated to hit 7.94 million in 2015, down 0.2 percent from the previous year, which is the first decrease in the last six years, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The GSO said that international arrivals are projected to top 760,800 in December, up 2.6 percent against last month and 15 percent compared to the same period last year.
This is the 6th consecutive month Vietnam has recorded a jump in the number of international visitors since July, a rebound after 13 months of successive decline.
In 2015, foreign guests arriving by air increased 0.8 percent over last year, but those coming to Vietnam by road went down 6.5 percent year on year, mainly due to a drop in the number of visitors from China (-8.5 percent), Cambodia (-43.8 percent), and Laos (-16.6 percent).
In addition, those arriving by sea this year rose to 27.5 percent, mainly due to the 145 percent hike in December alone, the GSO said.
In terms of markets, international arrivals from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and China were all lower than the same period last year, according to the GSO.
The number of visitors from the respective countries were 227,100 (-43.8 percent), 62,200 (-9.3 percent), 114,000 (-16.6 percent), 99,800 (-3.5 percent), 214,000 (-13.1 percent), and 1.78 million (-8.5 percent).
Meanwhile, arrivals from Europe will reach 1.36 million this year, up 0.7 percent over the previous year.
Visitors from the Americas are estimated at 647,700, an increase of five percent over 2014. In particular, arrivals from the United States were 491,200, up 10.7 percent year on year.
Arrivals from Australia and New Zealand are projected to hit 341,400, a 5.1 percent year-on-year dip.
The number of visitors from Africa was 27,200, up 44.3 percent against 2014.
In recent years, thanks to the implementation of the visa exemption policy for citizens of the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy, the number of visitors from these countries has been increasing.
