In 2014 the south-central province, 430km from Ho Chi Minh City, received some 3.6 million tourists, exceeding its target of 3.4 million holidaymakers. In 2013, the number of tourists was three million.
In the year to November
2014, Khanh Hoa welcomed more than 3.3 million tourists, up 22 percent from the
same period in 2013, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
Of these, 210,000
vacationers were from Russia, the country which remains the largest source of
visitors for Khanh Hoa, followed by those from South Korea, Australia, China
and Belgium, according to the Hanoi-based newswire.
The Khanh Hoa
administration says it is implementing cooperative programs run with places
around the world such as Morbihan (France), Ulsan (South Korea), Gomel
(Belarus), Moravia (Czech Republic), and Antalya (Turkey). The Vietnamese
province has also entered into tourism development pacts with Russia’s Primorye
region and North Australia.
It will also seek to expand
cooperation with countries that have strong tourism development such as Japan,
Russia, South Korea, and the U.S. this year.
These are measures taken by
the Khanh Hoa administration to diversify international arrivals to the
province at a time when the number of Russian tourists is on a downward trend,
apparently following the ruble crisis.
Khanh Hoa is expected to
experience a sharp decline in Russian arrivals in the first half of this year. Tourists
can reach Khanh Hoa and Nha Trang by road from Ho Chi Minh City or by air via
Cam Ranh International Airport, which welcomed its 2 millionth passenger of
2014 on December 30. The airport has also been added to the list of exit
terminals that offerVAT refunds for foreigners, starting Tuesday, January 6.
Foreigners will be able to
receive a refund for goods worth at least VND2 million (US$94) per receipt per
day and purchased within 30 days of their exit date when leaving the country
through Cam Ranh airport.
They will receive 85
percent of the value-added tax imposed on their purchases and the remaining 15
percent will be counted as service fees for the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial
Bank for Industry and Trade (VietinBank), which is tasked with refunding the visitors.
Khanh Hoa chairman Nguyen
Chien Thang told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in September last year that the
province has plans to convert the Nha Trang port, located near the heart of the
eponymous city, into an international cruise port, the first of its kind in the
country, in 2015.
Nha Trang port currently
hosts cargo and passenger ships and is operated by the state-owned Vietnam
National Shipping Lines, commonly known as Vinalines. After the conversion, the
port will not only welcome international passenger vessels, but also cruise
ships, according to the chairman.
