About 561,100 tourists including 277,700 foreigners have visited the province so far this year, representing an annual increase of 7.3 percent and 35 percent, respectively.

The sector also saw a surge in tourism revenues of 23 percent to reach VND487 billion in the review period.

The increase in foreign tourist numbers has been attributed to a rollout in new services and products such as the Vietnam countryside, traditional handicrafts and central mountain tours around Hue, the “Bach Ma Impression” festival and June's Hue Handicraft Festival 2007 which drew more than 150,000 visitors.

June also played host to a fair showing high-quality Vietnamese products that brought in 300,000 visitors.

In order to continue with its growth targets, the provincial tourism authority will cooperate with Chinese partners to embark on tours from Hue to Beihai city in Guangxi province and Macau to Hue in the other direction.

Vietnam received more than 2.1 million foreign visitors over the first six months of the year, representing a 14.7 increase over 2006.