More than 2.69 million international tourists arrived in Vietnam in the first quarter of this year, soaring 30-fold against the same period last year, according to data released on Wednesday by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

The country earned an estimated VND161 trillion (US$6.8 billion) in revenue gained from lodging and dining services.

Some provinces and cities in particular witnessed an upsurge in revenue, such as Da Nang (73 percent), Quang Ninh (43 percent), Can Tho (42 percent), and Ho Chi Minh City (37 percent).

The country took in around VND6.8 trillion ($288 million) from travel services, up two-fold compared to the year-ago figure, buoyed by lots of cultural and tourism activities taking place in the first months of the year, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

In March alone, the number of international visitors to this Southeast Asian nation is estimated to reach over 895,000.

This year, the country looks to serve 110 million tourists, including around eight million international arrivals, and generate roughly VND650 trillion ($27.5 billion) in revenue.

Vu The Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, remained upbeat on Vietnam’s tourism industry in 2023, saying that the industry would manage to fulfill its targets.

Tourists from China recently returned to Vietnam after the northern neighbor decided to resume outbound group tours for its citizens.

Moreover, if a three-month e-visa validity extension is approved at an upcoming National Assembly session in May, the volume of international visitors to Vietnam is expected to rise sharply, Binh said.

Local tourism businesses hoped that international tourist arrivals in Vietnam would surpass eight million.

In addition, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, launched multiple tourism promotion events to woo more international tourists to Vietnam

Between March 7 and 9, the country’s tourism authority attended ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show, to promote local tourism.

The VNAT on March 15 also coordinated with the government of Lang Son Province in northern Vietnam and relevant units to welcome the first group of Chinese tourists to Vietnam.

China has remained among the top source markets of Vietnam’s tourism.

During the 2015-19 period, the number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam rose to 5.8 million from 1.78 million.

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