To ensure tourists "come back again and again".

Overall, in the first four months, the number of international visitors to Vietnam remained lower than the same period last year. Besides economic difficulties, improving the tourism environment in Vietnam requires special attention, including promotion, marketing, and improvements to infrastructure and services.

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According to a report by the State Steering Committee on Tourism at its plenary session on April 16th, the number of international tourists visiting Vietnam in early 2013 decreased, mainly from traditional markets and geographically distant markets such as Western Europe and North America.

Several reasons have been cited, including the high cost of tourism services; the doubling of the cost of a single-entry visa to Vietnam since January 1, 2013; the rampant operation of unlicensed taxis and street vendors, as well as harassment, fraud, and coercion of tourists; and the continued occurrence of social vices and crime in many localities.

The tourism promotion staff is small, of low quality, and lacks sufficient foreign language skills. Efforts to mobilize resources and socialize tourism promotion activities remain limited.

Members of the State Steering Committee on Tourism believe that it is necessary to consider and submit to the Government appropriate policies to create favorable conditions for international tourists to visit Vietnam, such as unilateral visa exemption for tourists from some key markets (Japan, South Korea, the Russian Federation and 4 Nordic countries), adjusting the temporary stay period for visa-exempt tourists to 30 days instead of the current 15 days, or issuing visas at border gates…

Simultaneously, policies should be enacted to incentivize investment in tourism development, such as price regulation policies to encourage tourism competition, brand protection policies, increased state budget allocation for tourism promotion activities, and incentives for businesses to invest in tourist rest stops along routes leading to major tourist centers. Efforts to combat social evils and ensure security and safety in localities should continue to be strengthened to address negative issues affecting local communities and tourists.

The number of international visitors is increasing slowly.

According to the General Statistics Office, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first four months of 2013 shows that January, following the New Year's Day holiday and Christmas, and the preparation period for the traditional Lunar New Year, saw a significant increase in visitors, higher than the number in December 2012 (614,700 people) and a 0.8% increase compared to the same period last year.

Source: Based on data from the General Statistics Office.

February is the month when Vietnam celebrates its traditional Lunar New Year, so the number of international visitors decreased during this month (down 11.3% compared to the previous month and down 18.3% compared to the same period last year).

However, in March, the number of international visitors to Vietnam increased compared to February (up 3%) and compared to the same period last year (up 1.6%); in April, it reached 613,900 people, an increase compared to the previous month (4.5%).

Thus, the continuous upward trend in March and April is a positive sign indicating that the number of international visitors to Vietnam is gradually increasing, albeit slowly. Compared to the same period last year, while there was a 9.6% decrease in the first two months, the decrease was only 6.2% in the first three months and 5.3% in the first four months.

By purpose of arrival, tourists accounted for the largest proportion (61.3%), and April saw a 4.1% increase compared to March.

Business travelers accounted for the second largest proportion (16.8% of the total), increasing by 3.2% in April compared to March. This upward trend is expected to continue, as foreign direct investment in Vietnam during the first four months of this year increased significantly compared to the same period last year, both in terms of registered capital (up 17%) and disbursed capital (up 3.9%).

Visitors coming to see relatives accounted for the third largest proportion (16.6%), with a significant increase in April compared to March (6.7%).

Visitors arriving for other purposes accounted for 5.3% of the total, and this figure increased by 7.1% in April compared to March.

There are 11 countries and territories with the highest number of visitors to Vietnam in the past four months (over 80,000 people): the People's Republic of China (548,000 people), South Korea (280,000), Japan (205,000), the United States (165,000), Australia (119,000), Taiwan-China (116,000), the Russian Federation (113,000), Cambodia (101,000), Thailand (89,000), and France (80,000).

Of these, 6 markets saw an increase in visitor numbers compared to the same period last year (the People's Republic of China increased by 6.7%, South Korea by 2%, Australia by 6.8%, the Russian Federation by 51%, Malaysia by 7.1%, and Thailand by 32.5%); 5 markets saw a decrease (Japan decreased by 3.3%, the United States by 6.9%, Taiwan by 25.6%, Cambodia by 16.3%, and France by 6.4%).

International visitors arriving in Vietnam by air accounted for 82.3%, a decrease of 6.4%; those arriving by land reached 348,000, accounting for 14.4% and increasing by 1.3%; and those arriving by sea totaled nearly 79,000, accounting for almost 3.3% and decreasing by 3.7%.

Although there has been an upward trend in recent months, the overall number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first four months of the year is still lower than the same period last year. Besides objective factors, such as people in many countries still tightening their belts, improving the tourism environment in Vietnam requires special attention, focusing on issues related to promotion and marketing, tourism infrastructure, service prices, service quality and professionalism, traffic safety, food safety and hygiene, and the problem of persistent touting at many tourist destinations.

According to (Chinhphu.vn) - LC