Tourists arrivals in Vietnam soar

Tourists arrivals in Vietnam soar

HANOI: International arrivals to Vietnam soared 115.4 percent in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2003, state media said on Saturday.

Some 1.115 million foreigners visited the country during the five-month period, with Chinese, American and South Korean visitors leading the charge, the ruling Communist Party's Nhan Dan newspaper said.

The number of visitors from Japan increased 25 percent compared to the same period last year following Vietnam's decision to grant visa-free entry to Japanese nationals staying for 15 days or less from January. -- AFP