International arrivals surge 2.2 times in March as tourism market fully reopened

International visitors to Vietnam reached 41,700 in March, up 41.4% over the previous month and 2.2 times higher year-on-year, the General Statistics Office reported.

March had a particularly high number of foreign arrivals as the country fully opened its tourism from the middle of the month.

Many travel service companies have welcomed international tourists to the country such as Indochina Unique Tourist Company bringing Thai tourists to Da Nang and Quang Nam; Lux Group had a delegation from Singapore and Europe to Quang Ninh and Hai Phong; Asian Exotic Company assisted a Mexican delegation to visit Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi, and Ha Long.

In the first quarter of the year, there were nearly 91,000 international arrivals, up 89.1% over the same period last year. Of which, passengers arriving by air accounted for nearly 90.5%, a 165.2% rise.

Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said the fully reopening of the market to international tourists from March 15 will not only help restore the economy but also affirm Vietnam as a safe and friendly destination amid tourism recovery worldwide.

Domestic tourists in March hit 8.5 million, up 21.4% year-on-year. The figure for the first quarter was about 26.1 million.

Tourism revenue in the first three months is estimated at VND111.18 trillion ($4.86 billion).