The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism said that 310,000 foreigners visited Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) this February, an eight percent increase from a year ago. The city has received about 620,000 foreign visitors since the beginning of this year, 9 percent up from a year ago and 18 percent of what was projected for the year.

Tourism revenue came to about VND4.3 trillion this February (a 34 percent increase from a year ago) and VND7.86 trillion in the first two months of this year (a 24 percent increase and 16 percent of what was planned for the year).

The tourist sector in the city will launch many events this month to promote tourism such as taking part in the Vietnam Culture Tourism Week in Doha, Qatar, and the 18th annual meeting of the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asian-Pacific Cities (TPO) in China, and preparing for the 2011 Tourism Festival Day to take place next month, the Southern Food Festival to be launched this coming May, and the 2011 Southern Fruit Festival to be held this coming June.

Source: VEN