Vietnamese tourists increasingly keen on Singapore

Dec 2, 2007, 2:57 GMT

Singapore - The city-state is fast becoming the destination of choice for Vietnamese tourists drawn by its reputation as a safe, cosmopolitan city, published data said on Sunday.

Vietnam charted the highest visitor-arrival growth in September with 16,000 visitors, a 24.3 per cent hike over the corresponding period a year earlier.

The absolute number is small given the overall figure of 766,000 visitors for that month, according to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) data in The Sunday Times.

Most were from Indonesia, China, Australia, India, and Japan.

'Vietnamese visitors are becoming more travel-savvy,' Chang Chee Pey, the STB's regional director for the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was quoted as saying.

Travel agents who cater to Vietnamese tourists report brisker business.

Vietnam's growing affluence gives people a reason to travel, said Robert Khoo, chief executive of the National Association of Travel Agents.

'ASEAN countries will be the first ones they go to,' he noted.

The majority of Vietnamese are mid-spenders, agents said, staying at three or four-star hotels.

Typically Vietnamese come for three or four days and pay about 450 dollars for a package including airfare.

ASEAN includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.