According to Nguyen Trung Khanh – General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of Japanese tourists to Vietnam has shown signs of recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic with 28,200 arrivals in the first half of 2022, an increase of 594% compared to the same previous last year.
At the Ehime Provincial Tourism Conference on August 2, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh said that international visitors to Vietnam reached more than 600,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2022, an increase of 6.8 times over the same period in 2021. The number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam reached 28,200 arrivals, an increase of 594%.
The Ehime Provincial Tourism Conference is one of the first tourism promotion events between Vietnam – Japan since the outbreak of the pandemic.
At the event, Governor Tokihiro Nakamura of Ehime Prefecture, Japan, introduced the unique features of the province’s tourism.
Ehime is a prefecture located in the northwest of the Shinkoku region, 1.5 hours by flight from Tokyo, and is famous for many attractions such as Dogo hot springs, Matsuyama castle, the ancient city of Uchiko or the Shimanami sea highway. Kaido.
Typically, Dogo hot spring (Dogo-onsen) is the place where director Miyazaki Hayao inspired the setting of the animated film Spirited Away. With a history of 3,000 years, it is Japan’s oldest hot spring.
Visitors to Ehime have the opportunity to experience many interesting activities such as watching autumn leaves in the Nametoko valley, skiing in winter or cycling along the Shimanami Kaido highway…
In addition, Ehime is also famous for 40 different varieties of mandarin. Mr. Nakamura said visitors can enjoy different varieties of tangerines in each season when coming to this beautiful land.
Tourism seminar in Ehime province, Japan, in Ho Chi Minh City – Photo: CONSULAR OF JAPAN IN VIETNAM
On August 2, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh assessed Japan as a key tourism market for Vietnam.
“In 2019, Vietnam’s tourism welcomed nearly 1 million Japanese tourists, an increase of 15% compared to 2018, and holds the third position among the largest tourist markets of Vietnam,” said Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh.
According to the Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan also increased rapidly and reached 500,000 arrivals in 2019, an increase of 27% compared to 2018.
“There are now many Vietnamese people coming to Japan to study, work, travel, seek cooperation and business opportunities,” said Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh.
According to Mr. Kenji Yoshida – representative of the Japan Tourism Promotion Agency (JNTO), tour travel is the main method chosen by Vietnamese people when coming to the land of cherry blossoms.
In a survey conducted from March 2022, JNTO found that 61.8% of participants said they often buy a package tour to visit Japan.
Besides, 69.6% of the participants also said that they mainly receive advice from companies providing travel and travel services for their trip.
Mr. Yoshida said that these figures show the important role of travel agencies and tour operators in promoting tourism between Vietnam and Japan.
@ Cafef