Vietnam’s tourism industry experienced significant growth in the first half of 2017, registering a 30 per cent increase in international visitor numbers.

According to the latest data released by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the country welcomed 6.21 million international arrivals in the first six months of the year. This included a 33 per cent surge in arrivals by air — an indicator of international business and leisure travel.

This year, the ACV expects Vietnam’s airports to handle a total of 97 million international and 64 million domestic travellers. In response to this increase in tourism, Vietnam plans to invest more than a quarter of a billion dollars in infrastructure projects at six major airports, including  Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, Noi Ba in Hanoi and the island hub in Phu Quoc.

Vietnam’s strong growth can be primarily attributed to mainland China and South Korea incoming travellers. Vietnam welcomed 1.9 million Chinese and 1 million Korean visitors in the six-month period, up 56 per cent and 44 per cent respectively from last year. Other major Asian source markets included Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia.

Last month, Vietnam’s lawmakers established a new fund to boost tourism campaigns with new sources of money from visa fees and entrance tickets. The country brought in $17.6 billion from tourism last year. With visa waiver policies for various large markets in Asia and Europe, as well as a new e-visa system, the industry hopes to welcome 17–20 million foreign visitors and make $35 billion per year by 2020.