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Viet Nam expects to welcome approximately 3.6 million foreign tourists this year, 200,000 higher than the 2005 figure, according to an official from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
Domestic holidaymakers, meanwhile, are forecasted to reach 17.5 million, said Hoang Tuan Anh, Vice General Director of the VNAT.
As a result, the tourism sector is expected to net a turnover of 36 trillion VND (nearly 2.3 billion USD) in 2006, a year-on-year rise of nearly 20 percent.
According to recent statistics of the VNAT, around 620 billion VND (roughly 38.8 million USD) have been poured in upgrading infrastructure for development of tourism industry in 59 out of 64 localities nationwide.
During the first nine months of this year, Viet Nam attracted 5.15 billion USD worth of foreign direct investment, of which 2.2 billion USD (equivalent to nearly 43 percent) was devoted to tourism and services sectors.
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