London (VNA) – Vietnam is introducing its tourism products at the 36th World Travel Market (WTꦑM), an annual event for the global travel industry, in London, the UK, through a string of activities.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines organised a press briefing on the country’s new products tailored to the demand of European customers, including tours to explore the world’s largest cave of Son Doong, Dong Van karst plateau and the new “tropical paradise” on the southern island of Phu Quoc. Vietnam Airlines Chief Representative in the UK Le Thanh Dung informed the participants about the carrier’s recent putting into use of the new Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the services between London and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, as well as the plan to increase flights on the routes. Ha Van Sieu, VNAT deputy head, said Vietnam has taken a host of synchronous measures to attract more European holiday-makers, one of which was the 15-day visa exemption for tourists from the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain since July this year. Along with increasing connectivity between the European market and local destinations via direct flights to the UK, France and Germany, Vietnam has improved service quality and design more up-scale products, he said. Gordon Bell from FocusAsia travel agency said Vietnam’s tourism sector has made marked progresses since more and more local residents can speak English and service quality has been improved significantly. He suggested Vietnam open tourism representative offices in European countries to support vacationers and businesses from the region while allowing longer visa exemption duration and visa-free re-entry. Foreign arrivals to Vietnam reached more than 6.33 million in the first ten months of this year, a decrease of 4.1 percent year-on-year, according to the VNAT. In October, the number of foreign visitors to the country increased 3.6 percent against the previous month and 16.1 percent compared to the same month last year. Tourist growth was seen in markets with visa exemptions, high spending and long stays such as the Republic of Korea, up 30.7 percent; Hong Kong, 28 percent; Singapore, 16.9 percent; Spain, 9.8 percent; Finland, 9.1 percent; and the US, 7.9 percent.-VNA