Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines (VNA), yesterday received the three-millionth visitor to Ho Chi Minh City.

Ms Nguyen Thi Hong, Deputy-Chairwoman of the City People’s Committee presented flowers to Nina Fedorova, the lucky visitor from Russia, at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The Vietnam National Tourism Administration and VNA are expected to welcome the five-millionth visitor to Vietnam tomorrow, marking the record number of tourists to Vietnam.

Tourist agencies in Ho Chi Minh City have been popularising the potential of Vietnam tourism in new, far and promising markets, such as Northern Europe, Russia and Australia.

La Quoc Khanh, Deputy-Head of HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that HCMC will participate in the Matka International Tourism Fair, the biggest in Northern Europe, to be held in Helsinki, Finland, in January, 2011, to further popularise Vietnam Tourism’s potential.

According to HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the City expects to receive a total of 3.1 million visitors, up 20% compared to the figure for 2009. The turnover from tourism is estimated to reach VND 41,000 billion.

Source: TT

Translated by Mai Huong