Beach destinations are the stars of Vietnam's tourism industry: report
Favorite beach destinations Danang, Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc performed very well in the past five years, together accounting for 30% of all tourist arrivals to Vietnam, according to a Savills report.
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The three places, famous for their long beautiful beaches and sunny weather most of the year, have seen an average annual increase of 23% in the number of foreign tourists, the real estate services provider said in the new edition of its annual Asian Cities Report.
The report highlighted the arrival of international hoteliers, an improved visa policy and investment into key infrastructure as drivers for the growth.
Vietnam has waived visa requirements for short trips taken by tourists from key European markets and recently passed a new rule allowing US visitors to stay up to one year, with multiple entries.
Savills' report said in the last decade, more than 70% of international visitors to Vietnam spent their holidays along the coast.
Most of these visitors hailed from temperate climates like China, Europe and the US who visited central and southern coastal cities with year-round warm weather.
An increase in the number of tourists from prosperous markets have led to more demand for rated accommodation, especially upscale hotels.
In 2015, five-star rooms increased 37% to more than 24,000 units, 30% of which were in Danang, Phu Quoc and Khanh Hoa. The last of the trio is known for its resort town Nha Trang, very famous among Chinese and Russian tourists.
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the country attracted nearly 8 million foreign visitors in 2015.
The number of international visitors reached 3.25 million in the first four months this year, up 18% over the same period last year.
Vietnam has been named by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in the top five ASEAN countries for the highest international visitor volume, with a compound annual growth rate of 9% over the last five years.
