Hanoi (VNA) - The purchasing powerin the total national retail value of goods and services until April 2018reached nearly 1.40 trillion VND (61.4 million USD), the General StatisticsOffice (GSO) reported.

This is equivalent to a year-on-yearincrease of 9.8 percent. The increase is estimated at 8.5 percent ifthe price factor is excluded, higher than the growth of 7 percent in the firstfour months last year. The rise was similar to that during the Tet (Lunar NewYear) holidays when the consumption demand was high.

GSO expert Vu Manh Ha attributed the surgein purchasing power in the first four months of this year to the high demandfor accommodation, restaurant, services and travel in the summer season.

Of these, the revenue from retail goods,which accounts for more than 75 percent of the total revenue, hit 46.4 millionUSD, up 10.8 percent from the same period last year.

Food and foodstuff retail revenue increasedby 12 percent, garment retail revenue by 12.8 percent, home appliances by 10.8 percent,culture and education products by 9 percent and transportation services by 8.2 percent.

Localities with high growth in retailrevenue include HCM City (12.8 percent), Hai Phong (12.6 percent), Da Nang (12 percent),Binh Dinh (11 percent), Nam Dinh (10.9 percent) and Hanoi (10.4 percent).

The revenue from accommodation andrestaurant services, which accounts for 12.3 percent of the total revenue,increased by 9.4 percent to 7.5 billion USD in the first four months.

The revenue from the tourism sector, whichaccounts for only 1 percent of the total revenue, reached a growth of 26.1 percentto 565.78 million USD in the first four months.

Tourism in Ho Chi Minh City recorded thehighest increase in revenue (30.4 percent), followed by Binh Dinh (28.9 percent),Hai Phong (23.4 percent) and Hanoi (18.8 percent).-VNA