Ho Chi Minh City welcomes 4 millionth foreign tourist

Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in conjunction with the municipal Tourism Association and Vietnam Airlines, held a ceremony on December 24 to welcome the 4 millionth foreign visitor, a Japanese, to the city.

Yamamoto Shoichi, a first-timer to the city, expressed his hope that with the attention from the municipal authorities, the tourism sector will continue developing and attracting more tourists from around the world.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Tourism Promotion, Japan is among the three leading markets of the city’s tourism sector with an annual average growth of 10 percent.
The city expects to welcome 345,000 Japanese in 2013.

The sector has conducted many activities to promote its image in Japan. It plans to coordinate with other cities in the lower Mekong region to hold tourism promotion activities in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre held a ceremony on the same day to welcome the two millionth tourist to the Hue imperial relic complex in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

Japanese tourist Yoshimi Muto received free accommodation at a five-star hotel in the province, a ticket for a four-day tour and a cash award.

On the occasion, the centre launched a golden tourism week for December 24 – 30, with big discounts to attract tourists to the Hue heritage site at the end of the year.

The incentives include 20 percent discount for a group of at least 10 tourists visiting Hue relics, 50 percent discount for those enjoying the performance of Nha Nhac at the Duyet Thi Duong Theatre and 50 percent for those touring around the Imperial palace on electric buses.

The week also encompasses a meeting for domestic firms to exchanging experiences on tourism activities, a demonstration of Hue cuisine, an Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) fashion show and other performances.

Recognised by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage in 1993, the complex gathers significant works.

Over 2 million tourists come to Hue each year, raking in more than VND100 billion (US$4.7 million for the local tourism sector.

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