Vietnamese tourism officials are probably praying that the effects of the recent visa waivers will kick in soon as the number of international visitors traveling to Vietnam has fallen for the 13th consecutive month.
Related Articles:
- Deputy PM Highlights 6 “Nightmares” For Tourists Visiting Vietnam
- Hanoi Ranked Cheapest Destination In TripAdvisor Index
- Vietnam Officially Waives Visas For 5 European Countries
According to Vietnam Plus, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam estimated 529,000 international arrivals for June, a 8.2% decrease from May.
“Of the total, the number of visitors travelling by air reduced by 8.6 percent and over land by 8.9 percent while those coming by waterways grew 2.5 times,” wrote the website.
Data showed that greatest decline was among European visitors at 14.7%.
France led the way in falling arrivals at nearly 50%, followed by China a 30.2%, however, some of these numbers were offset by a 31.1% increase among U.S. travelers.
Overall, the country's tourism landscape is becoming increasingly bleak. 3.8 million foreign tourists visited Vietnam through the first half of the year, down 11.3% compared to the same time period last year.
A volatile Russian economy, chilly Sino-Vietnamese relations and a recent outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) have all been blamed for the poor performance.
Vietnamese authorities have tried a number of tactics to boost the country's tourism appeal, from the aforementioned visa waivers to ordering customs officials to improve their attitudes towards international visitors.
[Photo via jamie Mellor]
