Fully tapping into the top ten markets boasting the highest numbers of visitors to Vietnam, including Cambodia, is seen as a priority task of the tourism industry to accomplish the target of serving 4.5 million foreign tourists in 2010.

Statistics released by the General Statistics Office show the number of Cambodian holidaymakers to Vietnam has grown steadily during the first six months of the year, reaching 117,000 or a year-on-year rise of 36 percent.

The tourism sector is expecting the number of Cambodian tourists to the country in 2010 would surge by 30 percent from the figure of 118,000 last year.

Ho Chi Minh City leads the nation in terms of attracting Cambodian visitors, making up 60-70 percent of the total number. It is followed by the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the Mekong Delta province of An Giang and the southern province of Binh Duong.

Industry insiders said visa exemptions, high quality goods, attractive tourist destinations and convenient travel are the main attractions that draw an increasing number of holidaymakers from Cambodia to Vietnam.

Transport firms such as Mai Linh and the Saigon Passenger Transportation Company (Sapaco) have highly valued the development of tourist transport services between the two neighbours. Every day, there are almost 80 bus trips full of passengers on the route.

In a recent interview, the Secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, He So Somara, said Cambodians used to prefer travelling to Thailand, but now they choose Vietnam for their holidays due to short distance, the availability of border gates, similar foods to Cambodia and low expenses.

The development of different tourism forms, including resort and health tourism, has also been attracting more Cambodian visitors to Vietnam, he said.

Dr Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Medic centre, said an average of more than 100 Cambodian patients have come to the centre for medical checks-up each day, accounting for 10 percent of the total number. Other hospitals such as Cho Ray, Traditional Medicine and Vu Anh have become popular destinations of Cambodians.

However, tourist firms said most of the tours from Cambodia are launched at the demands of Cambodian people following fairs showcasing Vietnamese products and Vietnamese doctors’ trips to provide medical checks-up and treatment, while the tourism industry itself has yet to embark on any activities to tap this market.

To seize this opportunity, Ho Chi Minh City is developing tours along rivers into its major tourism products to woo more foreign visitors, including those from Cambodia. A number of tours along Tien and Hau rivers to the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh are luring holidaymakers.

As part of the Mekong sub-region tourism development project, An Giang has sent a delegation to Cambodia to explore and promote tourism in this market, and discuss with local partners plans to develop destinations. The annual flow of tourists via border gates was another issue discussed at the meeting.

(Source: VNA)