Travel agencies drum up more Japanese tourists
Nine Vietnamese travel agencies attended an international fair on tourism in Japan in an effort to bolster the number of visitor from the Land of the Rising Sun.

The fair, which took place in Tokyo from September 14-16, drew the participation of businesses from 134 countries and territories.

Pham Huu Minh, Director of the Tourism Promotion Department from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, said Viet Nam welcomed 384,000 Japanese visitors last year, representing an increase of 13.5 percent from 2005.

In the first eight months of this year, the number of Japanese visitors to Viet Nam surged 15 percent year-on-year to nearly 270,000 and the figure is expected to reach 420,000 by the end of this year.

According to the director, Viet Nam has set a target of welcoming 500,000 Japanese visitors by 2010.

To achieve the target, more attention will be paid to promotional activities, Minh said. He also mentioned a number of difficulties facing the tourism sector, including the shortage of information provided in Japanese and Japanese-speaking tour guides.