In a report released by the MoCST, the country’s tourism sector reflects a stable positive growth during the first six month of 2103 despite the global economic recession. Total international arrivals in Vietnam during the year’s first half showed a 2.6% growth compared to figures recorded from the previous year. The total revenue from tourism during the period is 105 trillion VND, a 23.5% increase from the same period of 2012.

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Tuan, Director of Representative Agency of MoCST’s Office in Da Nang City, the growth was a result of the several tourism events that were carried out in the Central region which attracted the bulk of the foreign visits. Among the celebrations and events organized included the 4th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival – Buon Me Thuot coffee, integration and development (Dak Lak Province), Hue Traditional Craft Festival 2013 – the Quintessence of Vietnamese Crafts (Thua Thien Hue Province), Danang International Fireworks Competition – Love for Han River (Da Nang City), and the 10th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park as a World Natural Heritage Site. Many destinations in the South had also become popular in many tourist’s travel itineraries which helped bring up the numbers of international visits to the region. Places frequented by visitors include Ho Chi Minh City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau. A total of 1.9 million arrivals were recorded for HCHM while records reflect 248,095 arrivals in Ba Ria – Vung Tau. Recent recognition of some of Viet Nam destination in some of the world’s top travel sites largely influence the increased arrivals. TripAdvisor recently listed four Viet Nam cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Ha Long) in their survey for Top 25destinations in Asia. Three museums were also recognized as among the 25 most attractive museums in Asia, reinforcing the country’s reputation in the international tourism arena. These museums are the The War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and the Vietnam Women’s Museum in Hanoi.

Moves to improve tourist accommodation systems also contributed to the positive direction of the tourism sector. Among the biggest investments that brought about large impacts include the projects in the Ho Tram Strip Resort (Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province) with 542 rooms, Havana Hotel Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa Province) with 1,200 rooms, Mariot Hotel Hanoi with 500 rooms, Novotel HotelDanang with 500 rooms, and the Languna Lang Co Resort (Thua Thien Hue Province) with 325 rooms. The tourism sector, however, also recognizes that more can be done to further improve the numbers. During an online conference held by the MoCST on July 19, Minister Hoang Tuan Anh expressed their sector’s intention to propose amendments on the Law of Tourism, along with other planned efforts including the completion of master zoning plans for regional tourism development, improving tourism environment, and fostering inspection of destinations, tour operators and hotels. The total international arrivals in the first 6 months reached 3,540,403 fulfilling 49.2% of the goal for the year. Viet Nam tourism sector has set the target of receiving 7.2 million international arrivals in 2013.