HCM City earns VND3.2 tril from tourism this month

The hospitality sector has contributed about VND3.2 trillion to HCMC this month, up 14% year-on-year, bringing the tourism sector’s total revenue in the first four months of this year to VND12.6 trillion, a 19% annual increase, according to a report.
The report by the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that about 230,000 international visitors had come to HCMC this month, up 10% compared to the same period in 2009. The majority of tourists arrived by air. The figure raises the total number of foreign visitors to the city to about 1.08 million, a 9% increase year-on-year.
The city’s tourism department said that about 60,000 local people from HCMC and other provinces traveled to foreign countries via Tan Son Nhat International Airport; however, the report did not show domestic travel figures.
The favorite outbound destinations of Vietnamese people are Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Cambodia, Western Europe, Australia and the U.S.
The Travel Management Division under the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Department compiled another report about hotel performance in 2010’s first quarter. Average room occupancy for three- to five-star hotels was 69%, up 8% compared to the same period in 2009 while the average room rate was down 18% at US$85 per night.
The report added that on average room occupancy at five-star hotels was 66%, 76% at four-star hotels and 70% at three-star hotels.
Average rates for a five-star standard room declined 16% to US$123, while four-star rooms cost 20% less at US$76 and three-star rooms were US$43, down 14%.
HCMC currently has 58 three- to five-star hotels with a combined 8,480 rooms, according to the Travel Management Division.
The division is yet to issue this month’s report as it is still collecting information from hotels in the city. Hotels have until mid-May to send their reports to the division.
In related news, Savills Vietnam Ltd just issued a report about hotel performance in the city in this year’s first quarter. The report highlights the different figures compared to the Hotel Management Division’s results.
According to Savills, the average rate for a five-star room was US$124 per night, US$83 for a four-star room, and US$51 for a three-star room.
The company said HCMC has 60 three- to five-star hotels with about 8,800 rooms while the division reported only 58 hotels.