Taipei, July 4 (CNA) Visits by Taiwanese nationals to Vietnam in the first half of 2017 were up 23 percent from the same period last year, part of a general surge in international tourism in the country, the latest Vietnamese tourism figures showed.
A total of 297,852 Taiwanese visited Vietnam from January to June, ranking sixth among all overseas visitors. In June alone, 50,176 Taiwanese traveled to Vietnam.
The increase in Taiwanese arrivals was part of an overall trend, as Vietnam welcomed about 6.2 million overseas visitors in the first six months of the year, up 30 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from Vietnam's head tourism office.
China accounted for the most overseas visitors, with almost 1.89 million visitor arrivals, followed by South Korea (1.07 million) and Japan (380,000).
Of the 6.2 million visitors, 5.21 million entered Vietnam by plane, 820,000 entered by land and 170,000 entered by sea.
Vietnam's tourist industry has estimated that 13 million overseas visitors could enter Vietnam this year.
To attract more international tourists, Vietnamese authorities recently adopted measures to relax visa restrictions, and they have already granted visa exemptions to citizens of more than 20 countries.
