Australian Tourist Relations Set To Increase

At present, increasing numbers of Australian tourists are visiting Vietnam. Australia is among the top ten countries with the highest amount of tourists visiting Vietnam, with an annual average of 200,000 tourists.
Most Australian tourists to Vietnam often choose long day tours and visit Vietnam by group to see popular destinations/sites such as Ho Chi Minh City, the Cu Chi Tunnels, Tay Ninh Citadel, Mekong Delta, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, Halong and Sapa. Long Tan - Nui Dat in Ba Ria-Vung Tau are other favorite sites for Australian tourists. Many local travel agents and companies in Vietnam receive tourists via major Australian travel agents such as Wendy Wu, Gecko, Interpid and more. They will create tour schedules upon request, receive guests, and organize tours in Vietnam. Besides tours within Vietnam, many Australian choose tours across Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao.
In the opinion of Vietnamese people, Australian tourists are friendly, easy-going and modest spenders. Therefore, cheap tours which cost less than 1,000 AUD (approximately VND12-13 million) have recently been popularized by Australian travel agents. Shirley Rutter - delegation leader of Wendy Wu said that after several times to Vietnam, she has recognized an improvement of Vietnam infrastructure system. The number of restaurants, hotel and shopping services has rapidly grown. Vietnam is becoming a popular destination for Australian tourists. Therefore, the number of tourists to Vietnam has increased notably during recent years.
Margaret Seymour - an Australian who has visited Vietnam three times said that Australian people are interested in Vietnamese culture, meeting with Vietnamese people, enjoying food and visiting tourist sites. The cost of tourist services is reasonable and Vietnamese people are friendly and hospitable. With these advantages, there will more and more Australian tourists to Vietnam because after returning from their trips, they will tell friends and relatives about their experiences in Vietnam.
Vietnam considers Australia as a traditional and important tourism market. For the past few years, the number of Australian tourists to Vietnam has increased. Even in 2008, while some important markets reported negative growth, the percentage of Australian tourists in Vietnam recorded a 4.5 percent increase, reaching 234,000 tourists. Vietnam is estimated to welcome more than 250,000 Australian tourists in 2010. Vietnam is also among top ten favourite destinations for Australia. Travel agents of the two countries expect that by improving tours' quality, recruiting excellent tour guides and developing attractive tourist products, the tourist activities with Australia will be further improved in the time to come.
In parallel with inbound activities, outbound activities have recorded impressive growth. By the end of March 2010, Australia received more than 37,000 visitors, up nine percent compared to the same period in 2009. Vietnam has become a potential tourism market for Australia. The number of Vietnamese people traveling and going on business to Australia is on the rise. To support Vietnamese travelers, Australia's Ministry of Tourism has provided Vietnamese language version of its website at http://www.australia.com. It will also work closely with air partners and travel agents to provide attractive tourism packages for Vietnamese tourists. Besides, domestic travel agents which expect to specialize in doing business with Australian tourist agents are allowed to follow special training courses so that they can create the most suitable tours for each type of customers./.