The southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau welcomed and served nearly 7 million tourists in the first half of this year, a year-on-year rise of 17%, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Of these, more than 260,000 were foreigners.
The province’s tourism turnover for the first six months reached an estimated VND1.78 trillion, a 23 percent rise over same period last year. The turnover includes VND257 billion from travel services, the department said.
Apart from major tourist attractions like Vung Tau city and Long Dien district, Xuyen Moc and Con Dao districts also attracted a large number of visitors. In the first six months of 2014, Xuyen Moc welcomed nearly 480,000 tourists, 58,000 of them were foreigners.
The Con Dao museum and Con Dao prison relic received 71,895 domestic and foreign visitors. Island authorities said that the museum will continue to collect documents and artifacts and strengthen links with the Con Dao prison as well as travel agencies to serve tourists better.