Vietnam cited as world’s second cheapest holiday destination

Hanoi, October 16 (VNA) - Vietnam has ranked second in the list of top 10 best-value destinations to go on holiday in the world, according to the leading global travel search site Skyscanner. Skyscanner highlighted Vietnam as a well-established stop on the Southeast Asia trail, describing the country as a beautiful, unspoilt destination with super cheap tourist services. The top position goes to its neighbouring Cambodia. Home to numerous beautiful landscapes and cultural and historical sites and with its proper tourism development strategy and political stability, Vietnam has become one of the most attractive destinations for holiday-makers around the world and reaped good fruits from the tourism sector. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism reported that the contribution of tourism to the economy increased significantly in recent years. In 2013, Vietnam received 7.5 million international tourists, a 10.6 percent rise over 2012, bringing 200 trillion VND (9.4 billion USD) for the state coffer, accounting for approximately 6 percent of the country’s GDP. Foreign arrivals in Vietnam were over 6.06 million in the January-September period, a year-on-year rise of 10.4 percent. The tourism sector will strive to serve 8 million foreign and 37.5 million domestic tourists this year, grossing 240 billion VND (11.2 million USD) in revenue.-VNA