Published:  14:36 Tuesday - November 22, 2016

The first representative office of the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) will be established in Hanoi following a decision by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The announcement was made at a recent meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Tourism Cooperation Committee held by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Japan National Tourism Agency. 

The JNTO office will provide more information on Japan for Vietnamese and support Vietnamese to handle tourism administrative procedures. 

The office is expected to boost cooperation between the two countries. 

Vietnam and Japan have enjoyed robust tourism following a mutual announcement on tourism cooperation between two sides and the establishment of the Vietnam-Japan Tourism Cooperation Committee in 2015. 

In 2010-2015, the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan increased 4.4 times to 185,000 in 2015 from 42,000 in 2010. 

In the first ten months of this year, Vietnam welcomed 611,000 Japanese tourists, up 11 percent against last year. 

Five airlines run services between the two countries. In the first half of 2016, the total number of round-trip passengers reached 945,000 and is expected to hit 1.9 million this year. 

The Vietnam Tourism Association set up its first tourism representative office in Tokyo in 2014.-VNA