Number of foreign tourists to Vietnam in October reached more than 628,000 arrivals, up 15.1 percent over a year previous, and bringing the total number over the past ten months to over 6.1 million, up 10.4 percent year on year, according the General Statistics Office.
Of this, tourist arrivals for recreation reached more than 3.75 million (up 2.7 percent), while those for businesses and visiting relatives were 1.02 million (up 8.6 percent) and 1.01 million (up 8.4 percent).
Markets witnessing sharp growth over the same period last year were Russia (66. percent), China (36.2 percent), Thailand (21 percent), New Zealand (18.9 percent) and Indonesia (18.3 percent).
Vietnam's leading travel operator Saigontourist has welcomed 4,500 foreign passengers and crew members on three luxury cruise ships touring Vietnam this October.
The Costa Victoria's 1,600 foreign tourists visited Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh city, and My Tho on October 17-19. The company greeted the cruise ship Voyager of the Seas and its 1,700 US visitors and sailors on October 18. On October 20, the SuperStar Gemini cruise ship and its 1,200 Chinese travellers arrived in Ha Long city.
This month, the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2013 has named Hoi An among Asia's most alluring cities, after Kyoto in Japan.