VIETNAM: Hoa Binh Lake Becomes National Tourist Area

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Vietnam’s Prime Minister has approved the plans, which cover a vast area of 1,200 hectares surrounding the lake, including the city of Hoa Binh and the districts of Da Bac, Cao Phong, Tan Lac and Mai Chau.

Development will focus on several key sectors, including ecotourism, adventure tourism, sports activities, MICE, and cultural tourism, including the area’s ethnic minorities. Tourism products such as “experiencing culture of the Muong ethnic minority and sightseeing around Hoa Binh Lake” have been identified.

The overall goal is to attract 630,000 visitors to the area by 2020, including 30,000 international tourists. This is then expected to increase 1.6 million visitors by 2030. International markets being prioritised include France, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

Hoa Binh Lake is located approximately 100km southwest of Hanoi.

VIETNAM: China Leads Arrivals But Australians Lead In Spending

AUSTRALIANS are the top spenders in Vietnam's growing tourism market, each outlaying more than $2200 a trip, according to an official report.

IN its first annual assessment of its $US15 billion ($A20.85 billion) tourism industry, Vietnam's National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) reported 7.9 million international tourist arrivals in 2014.

Australians accounted for 321,089 arrivals - the ninth largest in a market led by China (1.95 million visitors) and South Korea (847,958).

But Chinese visitors on average stayed less than a week with average spending of just $US790 ($A1,098) a trip.

Australians each spent $US1,677 ($A2,331) per trip, followed by Germany ($US1,367) and the United Kingdom ($US1,348).

The annual tourism report, sponsored by the European Union, compared Vietnam with Thailand and Malaysia, and called for improvements to Vietnam's tourism service and air transport infrastructure to match its regional rivals.

Vietnam's Tourism Minister Hoang Tuan Anh told the National Assembly on Tuesday the tourism industry had recovered, buoyed by increased foreign tourism arrivals in recent months.

Vietnam's tourism industry has been pressing the government to further ease visa requirements to boost the outlook.

Earlier this year the country amended its visa requirements for travellers coming from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Australians still require a visa but the government is expected to grant visa-free access for Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians for a 15-day period starting from July 1, 2016.

VIETNAM: Vietnam Arrivals Rise

Vietnam’s tourism revival continued in August 2015.

According to the latest data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), international visitor arrivals increased 7.5% to 664,985 last month. This marks the second consecutive month of year-on-year growth, although the figures are comparable to subdued visitor arrivals in the corresponding months last year.

Mainland China (+17.6% to 159,010) remained Vietnam’s largest source market in August 2015, ahead of South Korea (+19.1% to 104,146). These two countries accounted for 40% of Vietnam’s visitors arrivals during the month.

Japan (+0.7% to 63,243), Taiwan (+30.9% to 40,357) and the US (+11.4% to 35,725) completed the top five source markets.

The once buoyant Russian market (-8.1% to 22,079) continued to struggle however, and was overtaken by France (-2.1% to 20,904) as Vietnam’s biggest European source market in August.

For the first eight months of 2015, Vietnam has now welcomed a total of 5.06 million overseas visitors, down 7.5% year-on-year.