China remains the biggest tourist market of Vietnam in the first seven months of this year with a year-on-year rise of 4.3 percent in number of Chinese mainland visitors.

In the period, Vietnam is estimated to receive 478,200 visitors from the Chinese mainland, or 23.3 percent of the total number of international arrivals to the country, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) told Xinhua Wednesday.

Most of Chinese people, who often go to Vietnam on holidays, visit the World Heritage-listed Ha Long Bay in northern Quang Ninh province. With laissez-passers, those from bordering localities can enter several northern localities of Vietnam without visas.

Other key tourist markets of Vietnam between January and July include the United States with 204,000 visitors; South Korea, over 179,100; and China's Taiwan, 163,500.

The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam, in the 7-month period, is estimated to surge 23.8 percent to over 2 million, of whom nearly 59.3 percent go to the country for touring, and 15.9 percent for visiting their relatives.

"This year, Vietnam is expected to host 3.4 million international arrivals, up 17.2 percent. We 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