One of the top picks for travelers at the beginning of the year is Tam Coc – Bich Dong (Ninh Binh province). This is a location within the Trang An World Heritage site with unique natural landscape values and privileged cultural and historical values.
The Trang An tourist complex attracts many visitors from the first days of 2024. (Photo: Ninhbinh.gov)
Tam Coc tourist area located in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. Tam Coc means 3 caves, including the First cave, Second cave and Third cave. All 3 caves are formed by the Ngo Dong River cutting through the mountains. The most impressive and attractive time for tourists is in April and May when the rice fields ripen golden.
Tam Coc tourist area is considered by domestic and international tourists as a safe, friendly, and hospitable destination.
Answering VTC News on the afternoon of February 25th, Mr. Pham Duy Phong, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of Ninh Binh province, said that in the first days of the new year 2024, the number of tourists to Tam Coc – Bich Dong has increased sharply.
“Although there are no specific statistics, compared to the same period in 2023, in the first days of the new year of the Giap Thin zodiac sign, the number of tourists coming to Ninh Binh increased by about 150%. This is a very positive signal for Ninh Binh tourism in particular, and the tourism industry in general,” Phong said.
Many beaches attract visitors during the Lunar New Year.
Also on the same day, informing VTC News, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, Director of the Department of Tourism of Khanh Hoa province, said that in January 2024, the total number of guests served by tourism accommodation establishments reached 721,500, an increase of 110.2% over the same period in 2023. Of which, international visitors reached about 520,000, an increase of 6 times compared to the same period; domestic visitors reached about 201,500, a decrease of 22% compared to the same period. The tourism revenue reached 3,869.1 billion VND, an increase of 98.4% compared to the same period.
“Going to February and especially after the Lunar New Year, although there are no specific statistics, the number of tourists coming to Khanh Hoa is expected to be relatively high, about 130% increase compared to January,” Mrs. Thanh said.
“In the coming time, we will continue to strengthen the implementation of communication activities, promotion and promotion to attract tourists to Khanh Hoa, in addition to focusing on promoting some traditional markets such as: China, South Korea, Khanh Hoa tourism industry also promotes some international markets to diversify the sources of tourists coming to Khanh Hoa such as Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan…”, Mrs. Thanh said.
Answering VTC News, Mr. Tran The Dung, General Director of Vietluxtour Travel Company, said that right from the beginning of the new year, the company has welcomed and completed procedures for many foreign tourist groups to visit Vietnam and other countries in the Indochina region.
According to Mr. Dung, although the number of tourists in the early days of the new year is not really crowded, it has also increased by about 30% compared to the same period in 2023, showing that the tourism and service markets are recovering positively.
“The tour that foreign tourists choose is Vietnam’s coastal tourist destinations such as Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa), Da Nang, Phan Thiet (Binh Thuan), Con Dao – Vung Tau (Ba Ria – Vung Tau), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang). At the same time, tourists also choose cross-Vietnamese tours and tours to Indochinese countries,” Mr. Dung said.
According to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in January 2024, the number of international tourists to Vietnam reached over 1.5 million, an increase of 10.3% compared to December 2023 and an increase of 73.6% compared to the same period in 2023.
“This number is the highest since Vietnam reopened for tourism in March 2022, equivalent to the number of international visitors to Vietnam in January 2019, which was before the pandemic,” the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism assessed.
Notably, according to the means of transportation, the number of visitors arriving by air reached 1.29 million, an increase of 10.2% compared to the same period in 2019; the number of visitors arriving by sea reached 48.3 thousand, double the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of visitors by road only reached 60% compared to the same period in 2019.
Many domestic tourist destinations attract international visitors at the beginning of the new year. (Photo: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism)
In terms of market scale, South Korea continues to be the largest market in January with 418,000 visitors (28.6%); China ranks 2nd, with 242,000 visitors; Taiwan (3rd) with 84,000 visitors and the US (4th) with 76,000 visitors.
In the following positions, the Australian market jumped to 5th with 62,000 visitors, followed by Japan with 61,000 visitors, Malaysia with 49,000 visitors, India with 46,000 visitors, Thailand ranks 9th with 41,000 visitors, and Cambodia ranks 10th with 37,000 visitors.
The largest markets of Vietnam in Europe include: the UK with 294,000 visitors, France with 241,000 visitors, Germany with 228,000 visitors, and Russia with 196,000 visitors.
By continent, the number of visitors from Asia increased slightly by 4.3% compared to the previous month, while other regions grew strongly: America increased by 27.3%, Europe increased by 26.6%, Australia increased by 68.5%, and Africa increased by 35.2%.
According to the sending markets, the main growth momentum in January 2024 came from major markets such as South Korea with an increase of 12.2% compared to the previous month; China increased by 3.4%; the US increased by 28.9%; Australia increased dramatically by 67.7%.
Especially, January 2024 witnessed very good growth from European markets benefiting from unilaterally exempting visas, such as: the UK (37.4%), France (18.6%), Germany (25.0%), Italy (62.9%), Russia (41.2%), Denmark (74.1%), Sweden (55.9%), Norway (47.4%).
“This growth shows the clear, positive impact of the policy of extending the residence period from 15 days to 45 days for 13 visa-exempt countries under Resolution 128/NQ-CP of the Government, effective from August 15, 2023. Therefore, with more than 1.5 million international tourists in the first month of 2024, it is a very positive signal for Vietnam’s tourism industry, creating motivation and confidence to strive to achieve the target of attracting 17-18 million international visitors in 2024,” the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism assessed.
