Hanoi, Jul 29 (IANS): Nearly 10 million international visitor arrivals were reported in Vietnam in the first seven months of this year, with a strong increase seen in visitors from Europe, the General Statistics Office said on Monday.

The data for international visitor arrivals showed an increase of 51 percent compared to the same period last year and 1.9 percent higher than in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Southeast Asian country.

The tourism sector recorded a 47.3 per cent increase in the number of tourists from Europe.

Other markets also saw high growth, such as Asia with 57.1 per cent, mainly due to the increase in Chinese visitors, Australia with 27.3 per cent and the Americas with 9.7 per cent.

South Korea and China remained Vietnam's largest tourist source market during the cited period.

The positive figures, especially the surge in European visitors during the low tourism season, were attributed to Vietnam's favorable visa policy and tourism promotion campaigns by businesses and localities, said the office.