Vietnam served more than 6.2 million foreign tourists in the first six months of the year, up 30.2 percent against last year, and 40.7 million domestic travelers, said Nguyen Van Tuan, Director General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) at the event, which was co-held by the VNAT and Vietnam Tourism Association.

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Tuan added that Vietnam raked in VND 254.7 trillion (USD 11.2 million) from tourism, a year-on-year increase of 27.1 percent.

Towards the goal of 13 million international visitors in 2017, the country needs to enhance tourism quality and services by checking and reshuffling tourism activities, he noted.

The Director General suggested travel agencies and hospitality establishments should proactively take measures to upgrade service quality for the development of tourism as a key economic sector, adding that the Administration will continue inspecting and withdrawing star-standard certifications of disqualified hotels.

It will work with local authorities to organize inspections of tourism sites and travel agents in the time ahead, he noted.

Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Tourism Association, suggested that it is necessary to give training to tour guides on the 2017 Tourism Law as well as professional skills.

He added that the Association will coordinate with the VNAT to provide businesses with latest update on tourism management policies and the Tourism Law.

Source: VNA