Vietnam is estimated to welcome over 1.7 million international arrivals in the first half of this year,posting a year-on-year rise of 23.7 percent.

The number of visitors from China rose 5.7 percent to nearly 405,900, remaining Vietnam's biggest tourism market in the six-month period while the United States ranked second in arrivals to Vietnam with 166,900 visitors, followed by South Korea with 153,500, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) told Xinhua Tuesday.

Among the 1.7 million arrivals, the number of tourists surged the most -- by 40.4 percent to over 1 million, while that of business visitors dropped 13 percent to 220,200.

"This year, Vietnam is expected to host 3.4 million international arrivals, up 17.2 percent. It will also receive some 16 million local visitors, up 17.6 percent," the VNAT said, adding that the country is likely to earn around 33 trillion Vietnamese dong (nearly 2.1 billion US dollars) from tourism services in 2005.

Thanks to the effervescent services, occupancy rates of hotels in Vietnam will stand at more than 65 percent this year. "Hotels in tourism centers like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and central Nha Trang city can reach occupancy rates of over 90 percent," the administration said.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has recently forecast that Vietnam will receive 3.36 million foreign arrivals in 2005, 3.64 million in 2006 and 3.89 in 2007, accounting for 5.87 percent, 5.8 percent, and 5.75 percent of the total visitors to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), respectively.

Vietnam, in the next three years, will rank fifth in attracting foreign visitors among ASEAN members, after Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, PATA noted.

Source: Xinhua