Visitors on a cyclo tour in Ho Chi Minh City

The survey conducted last year showed that overseas visitors who spent four to seven days accounted for 48 percent of all foreign visitors, while those who stayed eight to 14 days accounted for 40 percent.

International tourists for leisure travel accounted for 73 percent of the total overseas visitors, while tourists for conference and business travel accounted for 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

Foreign tourist spending was an average of 3.3 million VND (145 USD) a day. Accommodation spending was the largest expense (33 percent), followed by food and beverage services (20 percent), shopping (18 percent) and travelling (10 percent).

Domestic tourists stayed in the city for 3.6 days on average, with tourists staying for one to three days accounting for 61 percent of all tourists, and those staying for four to seven days accounting for 35 percent.

The average spending of domestic tourists amounted to 1.58 million VND (69 USD) a day.

Spending on accommodation for domestic travellers was the highest expense (22.9 percent), followed by food and beverage services (18.9 percent), shopping (13 percent), and travelling (12.2 percent).

Sixty-nine percent of foreign tourists chose more flexible “free and easy” tours, while the remaining 31 percent joined group tours.

Nearly 81 percent of domestic tourists chose free and easy tours, while group tours accounted for more than 19 percent.   

Last year, the city welcomed 6.38 million overseas tourist arrivals and 24.9 million domestic tourist arrivals.

In the first six months of this year, the number of international tourist arrivals to the city soared by 26.5 percent year-on-year to reach 3.83 million, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.

Tourism revenue amounted to 62.6 trillion VND (2.74 billion USD), up 15.7 percent year-on-year.