The organising committee of the Viaggiatori international tourism fair in Lugano, Switzerland voted Viet Nam as the ‘most outstanding new destination of the Far East region’ for 2005.
Representatives from the Viet Nam Administration of Tourism and several domestic tourism companies for the first time participated in the expo, held from October 28 to November 1.
The event drew participants from over 1,200 international tourism companies and attracted around 40,000 visitors.
A report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) said Viet Nam is considered to be one of top 10 countries expected to see the strongest tourism development in the next decade.
The organisation also ranked Viet Nam seventh among the strongest travel and tourism-oriented economies for 2005, with estimated annual growth expected to range between 7.2 per cent and 7.9 per cent.
Montenegro topped this year’s list with an annual growth forecast at 9.9 per cent, while India and China placed second and third respectively. The list also included Reunion Island (in the Indian Ocean off southern Africa), Croatia, Sudan, Laos, the Czech Republic and Guadeloupe.
The WTTC report said the annual growth rate of the tourism industry in 174 countries will average 4.6 per cent over the next 10 years.
According to the Viet Nam Administration of Tourism, the country attracted 2.9 million tourists last year, an increase of 500,000 over 2003, and expects to receive a total of 3.2 million foreign tourists by the end of this year.