The number of foreign visitors to Việt Nam increased rapidly in recent months, as Việt Nam reopened economic activities with loosened virus control measures. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — International arrivals to Việt Nam jumped significantly in May while the country rose to be among the most-searched destinations after international tourism reopened.

The latest update from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that international arrivals to Việt Nam reached 172,900, representing a rise of 70.6 per cent over the previous month.

For the January-May period, Việt Nam received a total of 365,300 international arrivals, 4.5 times higher than the same period last year but 95 per cent lower than the same period of 2019, when COVID-19 restrictions were not in place.

Việt Nam saw a whopping rise in the number of international arrivals since the country reopened tourism in mid-March with the resumption of international flights. The SEA Games 31 also helped attracted a large number of foreigners to Việt Nam, according to GSO.

The GSO’s statistics showed that international arrivals to Việt Nam in May saw the highest increases from Australia and America, by 2,918 per cent and 2,192 per cent respectively, to 17,806 and 49,675. Arrivals from Europe were up 975 per cent to 65,253.

International visitors mainly came by air, accounting for around 87.8 per cent, 6.3 times higher than the same period last year.

According to Nguyễn Trung Khánh, director general of Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism, the number of foreign tourists remained modest compared to the pre-pandemic levels. However, the rapidly increasing rate demonstrated that the international tourism market is warming up.

Data from Google showed that there were rapid increases in the search volume for holidays in Việt Nam, making the country one of the most-searched destinations since international tourism was reopened on March 15.

Searches about Việt Nam tourism were mainly from the US, Australia, Singapore, France, Japan, Germany, Canada, India, the UK and Thailand. Searches for airlines to Việt Nam increased drastically, by 800 per cent as of mid-April over the same period last year. Searches for hotels in Việt Nam increased by 114 per cent.

Revenue from accommodation and catering services increased by 69.3 per cent in May, making the revenue for the five-month period rise by 15.7 per cent. Tourism revenue jumped by 34.7 per cent in the January-May period.

Việt Nam temporarily removed the need for health declarations from late April and suspended COVID-19 test requirements for passengers entering Việt Nam from May 15, to attract foreign tourists in the peak international tourist season.

With loosened virus control measures, airlines have increased flights on international routes as well as opening new ones.

Vietnam Airlines said that it has increased the frequency of flights on eight routes to Japan and South Korea from mid-May and will restore three routes to South Korea from the beginning of June. The airline plans to operate daily flights between HCM City and San Francisco from 2023, up from the current four flights per week.  

Vietjet also said that it would open two flight routes from Hà Nội to Nagoya and Fukuoka (Japan) from the beginning of July.

Việt Nam is aiming to receive five million foreign tourists this year. — VNS