The tourism sector aims to receive 23-24.4 million tourists, including 4-4.4 million foreigners, and earn a turnover of 56 trillion VND (approximately 3.5 billion USD) this year, a year-on-year rise of 10 percent.

The targets were announced in Ha Noi on Feb. 10 at a Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) meeting to review tourism activities in 2006 and discuss programmes for 2007.

The Government has selected northern mountainous Thai Nguyen province to launch the 2007 Tourism Year. The VNAT has also selected the year for administrative reform, aiming to restructure and enhance the State's management capacity in tourism, improving the quality of services and tourism products.

The sector also aims to enhance competitiveness and boost integration into the regional and international tourism markets.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said that the tourism sector's progress remained slow in 2006 and urged it to continue growing stronger to make a breakthrough in the coming time.
He suggested the sector focus on planning both local and key national projects with long-term strategies and vision.

The development of tourism has boosted infrastructure such as post and telecommunications, in addition to improving food safety standards and increasing the people's awareness on protecting natural resources and the environment, he said.

The Deputy PM also urged the sector to diversify their investment and forms of ownership, including foreign and domestic sources.

Furthermore, the sector should pay attention to fostering human resources, thereby creating skilled personnel with fluency in foreign languages and knowledge of foreign cultures, he added.

Last year, more than 20 million tourists visited Viet Nam, a year-on-year rise of 6.6 percent. Foreign visitors exceeded 3.5 million of the total.

Source: Vietnam Agency