VietNam Business: annual target

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Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tourist arrivals expected to top 5 million this year

Tourists visit HCM City. The Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism expects the country will welcome about 5 million visitors this year, which is almost 1 million higher than the initial annual target. —VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu

HCM CITY — The strong recovery of the inbound sector in recent months made the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) confident it can surpass its annual target and receive 5 million foreign visitors this year.

The original target was 4.2 million international visitors, a year – on-year increase of 10 per cent, said VNAT director Nguyen Van Tuan.

"The sector will surely hit the 4.2 million target two months early," Tuan said.

"The tourism industry is highly sensitive to economic and financial changes," he said, noting that the global economic downturn last year had caused a significant decrease in the number of foreign visitors to Viet Nam.

And this year, along with the economic recovery, foreign arrivals had also increased strongly, he said.

Strengthening large scale promotions in key markets like France, the US, China, South Korea, Japan and ASEAN countries have also proved effective with the number of visitors from these markets increasing sharply.

Moreover, the unstable political situation in Thailand earlier this year made many visitors from Western Europe and North America shift their holiday destination to other countries including Viet Nam.

Tuan said that the tourism sector will continue to promote the country's image abroad with travel promotion programmes in potential markets like China, Northeast Asia, ASEAN and Western Europe.

The country welcomed over 3.8 million international visitors last year, down 11.5 per cent from the previous year. International arrivals in the first eight months of this year reached 3.3 million, up 35.2 per cent over the same period last year.

Viet Nam's tourism turnover in the first eight months of this year was VND64 trillion (US$3.28 billion), a year-on-year increase of 37.13 per cent, meeting 80 per cent of the annual plan, according to the VNAT. — VNS

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

High disbursement shows positive economic signs

Photo: Tuoi Tre

A positive trend in economic development is reflected in the high disbursement of investment and development project funds.

Statistics show that an estimated VND92.1 trillion (US$4.7 billion) was disbursed from the State budget for development projects in the first eight months of the year, making up almost 74 percent of the annual plan.

Disbursement of Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments reached over $1.8 billion, or 74.5 percent of the annual target and 13.5 percent increase year on year.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) saw up to $7.25 billion disbursed, representing an increase of 3.6 percent over the same period last year.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) forecast that development investment this year is expected to reach VND800 trillion, accounting for 41.37 percent of gross domestic product and representing a growth of 12.9 percent year on year.

Once the disbursement is reached, it would be the second consecutive year Vietnam has surpassed the annual target for development investment, said MPI.

The trend was of primary importance for Vietnam since the country is largely dependent on investment for economic growth, the ministry explained.

The figures have shown the great efforts made by the Government, ministries, industries and local administrations to mobilise different financial sources for development amid post-crisis economic difficulties worldwide.

The figures were evidence of investors’ and partners’ confidence in Vietnam’s potential for growth, MPI said.

Problems, however, remain with cumbersome administrative procedures and limited management competence.

Experts have called on responsible agencies to move promptly in reviewing and adjusting relevant policies and streamlining administrative procedures in an effort to increase the country’s capacity to absorb investment.

The Director of the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast, Le Dinh An, said measures to lure FDI should be associated with economic restructuring and geared to concrete industries and products.

Such an orientation should be also applied to ODA fundraising, he added.

National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien proposed an early orientation for mobilising and using ODA at a workshop in July.

He also called for relevant agencies to make objective evaluations of national debts in support of mobilising financial sources for economic development.

High disbursement shows positive economic signs