The US Tour Operators Association (USTOA) has forecast that Vietnam will be second-most favoured destination among new emerging ones of international tourists in 2013.

In a survey released at its annual conference in Hawaii, USTOA said Vietnam will stand after Myanmar and before India in the new emerging destination list, which also names Peru, Cambodia, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador.

Founded in 1972, USTOA is a national organisation that educates government agencies and the public about vacation packages and tour operators.

In the association's 2012 list, Vietnam was selected as the first choice for tourists, followed by India, Ecuador and China.

Vietnam welcomed a record of 6.647 million international arrivals in 2012, surpassing the yearly target of 6.5 million, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The figure represented a 9.5 percent rise over the previous year despite the economic slowdown.

Most tourism markets of Vietnam registered growth, with the Republic of Korea leading the trend with an increase of 30.7 percent. Japan followed with a 19.7 percent rise.

With an average spending of 1,000 USD per tourist, revenues from international visitors are estimated at 6.6 billion USD in 2012. Last year’s figure was 5.62 billion USD.

Source: VNA