The five-millionth foreign visitor to Ho Chi Minh City this year landed on Saturday to the warm welcome of local officials.

French national Chappe Bertrand was the city’s five-millionth international visitor when he arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 7:05 am in the morning aboard a flight departing from France.

Two other passengers on the same flight, Bilweis Christophe and St John Thomas, were the 4,999,999^th and 5,000,001^st foreign tourist to Ho Chi Minh City, respectively.

The three travelers were welcomed at the airport by the city’s administration and the Department of Tourism.

Nguyen Thi Thu, deputy chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, presented the guests with flowers and gifts of gratitude.

The three tourists were each entitled to a free business-class ticket from France to Vietnam, free premium membership (Gold Card) from the Tan Son Nhat Airport Service Company (SASCO), free service at different dining and shopping locations in the city, as well as free city tours during their stay.

In recent years, the number of foreign tourists to Ho Chi Minh City has been increasing at an average rate of 8.2 percent a year, bringing along a 16.4 percent yearly increase in the city’s revenue from tourism, Thu said on Saturday.

Revenue from tourist services accounts for around nine percent of the city’s GDP, the deputy chairwoman added.

“Ho Chi Minh City has today become Vietnam’s first city to hit the five-million-tourist mark in 2016,” Thu noted in her welcome speech.

Bui Ta Hoang Vu, director of the municipal Department of Tourism, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the same day that the city is striving for a ten-percent growth rate for its tourist industry in 2017.

Ho Chi Minh City officials and three lucky tourists (wearing conical hats) at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, December 24, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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