PROUD SPONSOR OF WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS Guest Editorial
BREAKING TRAVEL NEWS SPOTLIGHT ON:
VIETNAM
As World Travel Awards arrives in Vietnam for the annual Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony, we here take a look at this fast-developing tourism market With over 3,000 kilometres of coastline, pristine beaches, growing cities, mountainous highlands and diverse cultural sites, Vietnam’s tourism industry continues to rank among the fastest-growing in the world. Since 2010, the number of international tourists has grown three-fold, with more than 15 million guests arriving in 2018. Last year the tourism sector recorded revenue of VND620 trillion (US$26.75 billion), up VND110 billion (US$4.75 billion) compared to 2017. At the same time, the number of domestic tourists grew by 6.8 million last year, up
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to an estimated 80 million internal trips. Vietnam - which was recently named as Asia’s Leading Destination for the first time at the World Travel Awards - offers a variety of options for tourists, such as cultural and historical tours, sea-based tours, adventure tours, eco-tours and luxurious breaks. In 2018, Ho Chi Minh City was the most popular destination, with 36.5 million visitors. This included 7.5 million international and 29 million domestic visitors. Hanoi, the capital, attracted 28 million
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tourists, including 5.5 million international travellers. Both cities also recently featured among the top ten most dynamic cities in the world in the Short-Term City Momentum Index from JLL. Quang Ninh, a north-eastern coastal province, emerged as one of the most exciting new destinations last year, attracting 12.5 million tourists, including 5.3 million international travellers. In addition, Da Nang, one of the largest cities in Vietnam, attracted 7.7 million tourists. Other major destinations include Hoi An, a well-preserved historical trading