Hanoi welcomed more than 3 million tourists in the first five months of this year, an 11 percent year-on-year rise, according to the capital's Tourism Department.

The figure includes 670,000 foreigners, a 13 percent increase over the same period last year.

China is Hanoi's biggest tourism market, accounting for 12 percent of foreign visitors in the past five months. Close at its heals is the Republic of Korea (11.3 percent), followed by France (9.8 percent) and Japan (9.16 percent).

The city's tourism sector earned an estimated turnover of VND8,200 billion (US$512 million) in the past five months, including VND4,200 billion (US$262.5 million) from its hotel and restaurant chains.