The article, by Thun Senghong, cited statistics by Google Destination Insights showing Vietnam was the seventh most searched destination from March to June this year, and the only country in the region to make the top 20.

The country’s tourism strengths lie with diverse landscapes, which have helped it welcome more than 5.5 million international visitors in the first half of this year, higher than the total number of foreign tourists recorded the whole last year.

Vietnam expects to serve 8 million foreign holidaymakers this year, yet the figure is projected to exceed 10 million, the article said.

It cited Director of Rustic Hospitality Group Bobby Nguyen as saying that most of the tourists hail from the Republic of Korea (RoK), China, and India.

Germany’s DW News said Vietnam’s tourism strengths come from its relaxed visa policy as from August 15, the country will extend the validity of tourist e-visas to 90 from 30 days, with multiple entries, and triple the duration of visa-free stays for visitors from certain countries to 45 days, according to the article.

The article also quoted some foreign experts as saying the visa policy is expected to give a boost to the domestic tourism industry.

Despite the rosy signs, the number of foreign arrivals has yet to meet the 2019 pre-pandemic figure of nearly 19 million, it noted.

Experts suggested Vietnam enhance coordination between ministries and agencies, upgrade its transport infrastructure and pay more attention to personnel training to improve its competitiveness in the sector, according to the article.