As many as 47 international travel agencies were honoured at a ceremony held in Hanoi on November 28 by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) for their contributions to the development of the country’s sector.

The agencies are from 17 countries and territories around the globe, such as the US, UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Thailand, India and Laos.

Addressing the ceremony, VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan highlighted the agencies’ contributions to increasing the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam.

Vietnam has so far this year welcomed over 7.2 million international arrivals as a result of their efforts, up 5.4 percent against the same period last year, he said.

At the event, the tourism sector introduced new tourism products and discussed the trends of key markets, especially newly-emerging markets and suggested appropriate strategies and marketing promotions.

In 2015, Vietnam targets to welcome 8.5-9 million foreign arrivals and 41.5 million domestic holiday makers, raking 290 trillion VND (13.6 billion USD).

VNA/VNN