The Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport on Jan. 1 welcomed 3,090 tourists, including 1,613 foreign visitors mainly from Europe and the US. The figure is estimated to have doubled by the day-end.

The first flight to HCM City on Jan. 1 brought 307 vacationers from Europe to the city, tripling the 2006 figure, according to La Quoc Khanh, Deputy Director of the municipal Tourism Department.

The Saigon Tourist Corporation (Saigontourist) alone is expected to receive 9,000 international tourists in HCM in January, marking an increase of nearly 90 percent over the corresponding period last year.

Judging by this positive sign, HCM City is forecast to welcome 2.7 million visitors in 2007, a year-on-year rise of 15 percent, said Khanh.

On the same day, the Costa Marina ship of the Costa Crociere - a leading European travel company - anchored at the Tien Sa port in the central city of Da Nang with 1,200 tourists on board. The holidaymakers, mainly from Italy, will call at various scenic places, including the ancient town of Hoi An, the former imperial city of Hue and the My Son Sanctuary in central Quang Nam province.

The first day of the new year also saw a rapid increase in the number of visitors to various resorts in the Mekong Delta region, of which Kien Giang province, home to superb caves, capes and stunning beaches, has become the most attractive destination in the region to both locals and foreigners, especially those from France and Germany.

The Phu Quoc island in particular, which offers vacationers various leisure activities like fishing, swimming and scuba diving, enjoyed a remarkable growth in the number of tourists from European and Asian countries. Most hotels on the island are currently full to their capacity.

Thousands of tourists, mainly from Japan and the Republic of Korea, have also flocked to Thoi Son isle in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang to join eco-tourism tours and attend time-honoured musical performances by the locals. (VNA)