The number of Chinese arrivals to Vietnam hit a record high in January, especially during the celebration of the Lunar New Year, with a surge of 72.6% year-on-year.

Illustrative photo by Getty Images.

The total number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam hit nearly 2 million this January, the biggest record ever, according to the General Statistics Office.

Those traveling by air and sea reached 1.6 million and 80,092, up 38.9% and 231.5% year on year while the number of road travelers slightly fell by 5.8%

One of the most flourishing source markets for Vietnam this January was Cambodia with an impressive growth of 320.9% while the increases of other markets including Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, the United States, Norway, and Russia ranged from 16.1%-42.5%.

Vietnam welcomed in January 1.5 million Asian tourists, accounting for 77.4%, up 39.9% year-on-year. The number of European, American, Australian and African arrivals increased 11.5%, 19%, 7.8%, and 22%, respectively. 

Vietnam is expected to witness a strong fluctuation in the number of inbound arrivals due to the outbreak of coronavirus. To prevent the possible contraction, Vietnam adopted some safety measures including banning arrivals from epidemic-hit areas, limiting the stay of Chinese tourists to a maximum of 14 days, among others.

A series of hotels and restaurants across Vietnam’s cities serving Chinese tourists including Nha Trang and Da Nang are being hit seriously due to the coronavirus outbreak.