Vietnam has experienced a significant drop in international tourist arrivals for the 11th consecutive month.
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According to estimates released by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), 690,440 international tourists traveled to Vietnam this in April, an 11.7% jump from March, but still 7.4% less compared to April 2014, reports Tuoi Tre.
The April-over-April drop was, however, an improvement over March that saw a 12.5% month-over-month decline.
The numbers over the first four months of 2015 are down 12.2% compared to the same time period last year.
According to VNAT, Russia and China, traditionally strong inbound tourist markets are the main reason for the poor performance. Russia has been hit by a financial crisis following the Ukrainian conflict and Chinese tourists have been going elsewhere due to frosty geopolitical relations between Hanoi and Beijing as they squabble over oil rigs and island building in the East Sea.
The country’s tourism industry was further hampered by rigid visa rules, poor service quality, and a strong US Dollar wrote the paper, citing The Saigon Times.
Things may get even tougher with the arrival of the low season. Some hotels expressed concerns about their operations in the coming months.
“It’s not an easy task to attract tourists between May and July,” Dang Huy Hai, deputy general director of New World Saigon, told The Saigon Times.
There were a few bright spots in the report with Vietnam luring more tourists from South Korea, Finland, Spain, Singapore, Italy, Germany and the US than in previous years.
[Photo via M]
