Vietnamese tourists to Japan up 55% in 2013

The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan is up by 55% to 85,000 in 2013 compared to the previous year, a Viet Nam Tourism Association official has said.
According to a Viet Nam News agency report, Viet Nam Tourism Association vice chairman Vu The Binh, told government media VGP News, "The number of Vietnamese visiting Japan has increased due to incentives to expand bilateral tourism." The number of Japanese tourists to Vietnam reached a record high of over 600,000 in 2013.
The first half of 2014 continued to witness rising numbers of Vietnamese tourists heading to Japan, Binh said, adding that approximately 63,000 Vietnamese travelled to Japan from January to June, up 50% year-on-year.
General Director of Viet Media Travel Corp Tran Van Long told VGP News that, in recent years, Japan also launched a number of campaigns to expand its market in Southeast Asian countries by simplifying visa procedures.
Long said large increases in the number of Vietnamese visiting Japan was in part due to simplified visa procedures and closer co-operation among domestic tourism companies providing tours to Japan, resulting in competitive tourism packages.
Currently, a tour to Japan costs around VND30 million (US$ 1,400) per tourist, much less than the earlier price of VND50-60 million ($ 2,340-2,810), he said.
Japan's proposal to waive visas for Vietnamese tourists beginning in September would attract large numbers of Vietnamese, he added.