The capital city of Ha Noi plans to make tourism more sustainable and a key industry, hoping to welcome 30 million visitors per year, including 5.7 million foreigners, by 2020.
According to the municipal Department of Tourism, the capital recorded annual growth of more than 10% in tourist arrivals. The growth rate of international holidaymakers is about 14% per year while that of domestic visitors averages 9.2%.
The city received approximately 19.7 million travellers in 2015, including 3.3 million from overseas who accounted for 40% of foreign visitors to Viet Nam.
However, the volume was much lower than that of other capital cities in the region. It was only equal to one sixth of the number of international travellers to Bangkok (Thailand), and one third of that in Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).
Most foreign tourists come from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, France, Germany and Malaysia.
About 80% of international visitors to Ha Noi were holidaying with the remainder coming for business.
The local tourism industry earned nearly US$2.47 billion last year and US$1.4 billion during the first half of this year. Average spending per foreign visitor was estimated at US$110 per day while the average domestic traveller spent US$55 per day.
Local authorities launched a plan towards 2020 and post-2020 to boost tourism, aiming to develop infrastructure and improve tourism products in terms of quality and diversity.
Ha Noi hopes to generate 120 trillion VND in revenue from tourism by 2020 with an annual growth of 15-17% until then.