Published:  13:56 Tuesday - July 03, 2012

The number of foreign tourists to the country has gone up 13.9% year-on-year to over 3.63 million in the year to date but it has strongly reduced in the two recent months, putting higher pressure on inbound tour operators in the rest of the year.<br>

South Korean tourists pose for a group photo inside the HCMC Post Office. 

According to the General Statistics Office, there were more than 417,000 foreign travelers to Vietnam in June, a fall of 8.8% year-on-year. The country in May also witnessed international tourist arrivals dipping, making up only 95.6% of that in the year-ago period.

Enterprises in the inbound tourism segment attributed slowing tourism demands from foreign tour buyers to current economic slump. They noticed the same situation also occurred in other nations, with fewer customers booking for international fairs.

“In general, the local tourism industry this year will be facing more difficulties due to declining foreign tourist arrivals, especially from the European market,” said Vo Anh Tai, director of Saigontourist Holding Company.

Local tour operators acknowledge the need to revise tour prices down to woo customers in the current context but they all find the solution impossible given an upsurge in input costs in the industry.

Tourists from China, as the country’s biggest visitor-generating market, have posted lower growth rate in the year’s first half, at a mere 3% as observed by the office. However, the number of Japanese tourists has sharply increased by 22.8% compared to 11.7% recorded in the same period last year and that of South Korea has risen by 41.3% compared to 3.7% in the previous year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Source:SGT