About 3.8 million international arrivals entered Vietnam in the first eleven months of 2020, down 76.6% year-on-year as Vietnam suspends foreign entries to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

Number of international tourists to Vietnam by market, 11 months of 2020. Chart: Nhat Minh

The international arrivals included foreign investors, experts, highly-skilled workers, business managers and their families who are allowed to travel to the country since borders were closed in March.

The figures were part of the latest report from the General Statistics Office (GSO), showing that 17,700 foreigners arrived in Vietnam in November, up 19.6% against October and down 99% year-on-year.

In January-November period, international arrivals by air dropped 80.4% year-on-year to around 3.07 million, while 602,600 came by road, down 80.3%, and those arriving by sea decreased by 37.8% to 144,600. 

Asian visitors accounted for 73.3% of total tourist inflows, with nearly 2.8 million, down 78.4% over the same period last year. 

The number of visitors from Europe fell 66.2% to 670,700 while arrivals from the Americas plunged 73.5% to nearly 236,100, mostly from the US. Around 102,700 visitors came from Oceania, down 74.3% while those from Africa numbered 12,400, down 71.1%.

Speaking at a conference on tourism held recently in the central province of Quang Nam, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said the country's tourism is predicted to lose US$23-billion in revenue due to Covid-19. The numbers of international and domestic tourists were estimated to drop by 80% and 45%, respectively, so far this year from a year ago.

"The tourism industry needs to continue to be proactive, creative, innovative thinking, methodical in investment, and build more new high-quality tourism products, in line with the needs and trends of tourism consumption in the context of post Covid-19," Mr. Thien said.

At the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam raised three issues on which the industry should focus on developing the tourism industry including guaranteeing the quality in all segments, restructuring the inbound tourism market, and ensuring safety for tourists.