Foreign visitors in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is forecast to witness a80-percent drop in the number of foreign tourists visiting the country in 2020if the COVID-19 pandemic is not controlled by the end of the year, according tothe Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
The administration said following a 33-percent growth inJanuary, the number of foreign arrivals fell sharply by 22 percent in Februaryand 68 percent in March.
The number of international visitors from April to June is unlikely to improve, but it could pick up towards the end of the year, all beit with much lower figures than in 2019.
According to Le Tuan Anh, director of VNAT’s tourisminformation centre, the Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition(MICE) tourism is likely to recover first due to the urgent need forcommercial transactions and business and production cooperation.
Vietnam is predicted to see an earlier recovery of arrivalsfrom Asian markets rather than other continents, he said.
If the pandemic is controlled in June, the number ofinternational tourists to Vietnam in 2020 may decrease by nearly 70 percentcompared to the previous year to only 5.5 million.
But if the pandemic lasts until the end of September orDecember, the number of foreign arrivals to the country may fall nearly75 percent and 80 percent to about 4.6 and 3.7 million, respectively, Anhnoted. /.
VNA
