Tourist arrivals to Vietnam decline in first four months

The number of foreign visitors dropped 17.8 percent to about 1.3 million in the first four months compared to the same period last year as a result of the global downturn.

The number of visitors from key markets, including China, South Korea and Japan, all decreased by as much as 30 percent, according to figures from the General Statistics Office posted on the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s website Wednesday.

Arrivals by air fell by 10 percent while arrivals by cruise ships tumbled by more than 60 percent.

Vo Huy Cuong, head of the Aviation Transport Department at the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, told the TBKTSG Online on Tuesday that the number of flights to and from Vietnam registered for the March-October period fell 4 percent year-on-year.

Many airlines, including Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Thai AirAsia and Vietnam Airlines, have decided to cut flights, Cuong said.

Vietnam’s tourism sector, which employs more than 10 percent of the country’s workforce, could face zero growth or worse in 2009 because of the global economic crisis.

 ThanhNien

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