In January 2012, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) received 310,000 foreign tourist arrivals, reported the city Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

Of the figure, 250,000 foreign tourists arrived in the city by air.

Because the lunar New Year 2012 was in January, a large number of overseas Vietnamese came through Tan Son Nhat Airport, which recorded around 600,000 arrivals. Also in this month, an estimated 800,000 arrivals from HCMC and neighbouring provinces passed through the airport on outbound travel, a 20 percent increase from the same month last year. The number of tourists crossing Moc Bai border gate to Cambodia was approximately 400,000.

More than 1 million domestic tourist arrivals visited the southern hub in the first month of 2012. During the lunar New Year, amusement areas such as Suoi Tien Theme Park, Dam Sen Park and Cu Chi Tunnels saw increased numbers of tourists. (Source: CPV)