The management board of the EU-funded Environmentally and SociallyResponsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme announced on November7 that its statistics on the number of tourists who return to Vietnamhad been taken out of context.
A number of media sourcedcited results from the EU programme’s survey on 600 English-speakinginternational and domestic tourists at five tourist attractions - Sa Pain the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, Ha Long Bay in thenorthern province of Quang Ninh, the central cities of Hue and Da Nang,and Hoi An ancient town in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Conducted in March-April and July-August this year, the survey showsthat approximately 90 percent of international respondents arefirst-time visitors.
Kai Partale, an expertworking for the EU programme, argued that the quoted 6 percent figurefailed to factor in non-English speaking tourists, including Chinese,Japanese, Korean, Russian and French nationals. Furthermore, the figuredoes not consider the status of tourists who did not visit theaforementioned destinations.
According to thesurvey, third-time and fourth-time visitors represent 2 percent and 3.2percent of tourists, respectively. Based on projections for the entireyear, 11.2 percent of visitors chose to return to Vietnam , expertsadded.
According to the General Department ofStatistics, returning international holidaymakers accounted forapproximately 34 percent of visitors last year. Up to 66.1 percent ofinternational tourists visited Vietnam for the first time, while20.1 percent and 13.8 percent came for the second and third time.
Implemented from 2011-2015, the EU project worth 11 million EUR isthe largest technical assistance programme supporting the Vietnamesetourism sector, aiming to introduce a number of regulations onresponsible tourism.
The Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourismare in charge of the project.-VNA
A number of media sourcedcited results from the EU programme’s survey on 600 English-speakinginternational and domestic tourists at five tourist attractions - Sa Pain the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, Ha Long Bay in thenorthern province of Quang Ninh, the central cities of Hue and Da Nang,and Hoi An ancient town in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Conducted in March-April and July-August this year, the survey showsthat approximately 90 percent of international respondents arefirst-time visitors.
Kai Partale, an expertworking for the EU programme, argued that the quoted 6 percent figurefailed to factor in non-English speaking tourists, including Chinese,Japanese, Korean, Russian and French nationals. Furthermore, the figuredoes not consider the status of tourists who did not visit theaforementioned destinations.
According to thesurvey, third-time and fourth-time visitors represent 2 percent and 3.2percent of tourists, respectively. Based on projections for the entireyear, 11.2 percent of visitors chose to return to Vietnam , expertsadded.
According to the General Department ofStatistics, returning international holidaymakers accounted forapproximately 34 percent of visitors last year. Up to 66.1 percent ofinternational tourists visited Vietnam for the first time, while20.1 percent and 13.8 percent came for the second and third time.
Implemented from 2011-2015, the EU project worth 11 million EUR isthe largest technical assistance programme supporting the Vietnamesetourism sector, aiming to introduce a number of regulations onresponsible tourism.
The Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourismare in charge of the project.-VNA
