The GSO attributed the result to favourable visa policies, tourism stimulus programmes, and efforts made by local authorities and the sector.
Among the foreign arrivals, 83.6% have travelled to Vietnam by air, 13.5% by road and 2.9% by sea.
Revenue from accommodation and food services in the first quarter is estimated at 174.8 trillion VND (6.98 billion USD), and from travel and tourism activities at 14.1 trillion VND, up 46.3% year-on-year.
In the period, 1.2 million Vietnamese people travelled abroad, a year-on-year rise of 11.5%.
In March alone, nearly 1.6 million international tourists have visited Vietnam, leading to a month-on-month increase of 4.4%.
This year, the tourism sector set targets of serving 18 million foreign tourists and 110 million domestic ones, and earning 850 trillion VND from visitors.
To that end, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism said that efforts will be made to carry out promotion activities, diversify products and services, and the tourism sector will coordinate with other sectors such as agriculture and industry to create products that increase the length of visitors' stay in Vietnam and thus spending.
