The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said the number of foreigners coming to Vietnam for work increased by 46 percent, followed by those for vacation, up by more than 44 percent.

The number of foreign tourists from China recorded an impressive growth of 95.4 percent; followed by Cambodia (up 93 percent), Thailand (32 percent) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) (31 percent).

HCM City took the lead in attracting foreign tourists in the first seven months of the year, with over 1.6 million arrivals, a rise of 13 percent from last year.

Experts say the increase in foreign holidaymakers to Vietnam was attributable to the world’s economic recovery that helped boost tourism demand.

Vietnam has organized tourism promotion programmes and cultural exchanges in China, Japan, the RoK and Cambodia in addition to road shows in Australia, Norway and West European countries.

The country is expected to receive 4.5-4.6 million foreign tourists this year, a year-on-year rise of more than 17 percent.

VNA