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Figures released by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in December showed that Vietnams tourist industry performed extremely positively in the year to November. In the first 11 months of the year, tourist arrivals totalled 5.4mn, a year-on-year (y-o-y) increase of 17.8%. Arrivals in November itself totalled 611,864, up 18.6% y-o-y, marking the usual strong performance during the high season.

Vietnams tourist industry performed strongly in 2011, even after an impressive year in 2010. This means that Vietnam is one of the best performers in the Asia Pacific region, even given the deteriorating external environment. Indeed, Vietnams impressive performance in the first 11 months of 2011 has led us to upgrade our 2012 target to 6.3mn arrivals. We are encouraged in this forecast by the governments increasing focus on the industry and the growing attractiveness of Vietnam as a location for tour groups as well as individual travellers,

Vietnam Airlines To Merge With Jetstar Pacific

In December 2011, the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) announced that Vietnam Airlines would merge with Jetstar Pacific, as a result of the low-cost airlines ongoing financial troubles.

Vietnam Airlines will hold 70% of the smaller airline, returning to its original status as majority shareholder. While it is unclear what stake Qantas (which holds 27% in Jetstar Pacific) will decide to hold, it may be that Vietnam Airlines will decide to fold all the airlines operations back into the national carriers brand name. This is particularly the case as Jetstar Pacific has never made money and Vietnam Airlines may decide that it does not make business sense to continue supporting the entity.

Major Hotel Complex Construction Agreed

In a sign of confidence in the countrys rapidly expanding tourism industry, US company Las Vegas Sands has agreed a major hotel project to be constructed in Ho Chi Minh City. The resort will be designed in the shape of two sails perched on a lotus and will include hotels, bars, restaurants and a theatre. The complex will total US$2bn and could mark the beginning of a new upsurge of casino developers investing in Vietnam.