International tourists to Vietnam sees a sharp decrease

Vietnam received more than 3 million international tourists in the first 10 months of this year; a decrease of 16.3% compared to that of the same period last year, according to the statistics of the Tourism General Department.
In October alone, the number of tourists to the country dropped by 25.1%, nearly 228,000 people, compared to previous months. The number of air and sea travelers is down by 37.2% and 49.6%, respectively, compared to last October’s figures. Meanwhile, the number of travelers arriving by road saw an increase of 72.2%.
The number of tourists coming from Vietnam’s major tourism markets such as Korea, China and Thailand also decreased by 24.2%, 26.3% and 18.8%, respectively.
The tourism sector believes that the Prime Minister’s decision to extend the free-of-charge entry visa for tourists to Vietnam until the end of this year and the forthcoming Asian Indoor Game III will attract more tourists to Vietnam.