~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Vietnam visitor arrivals to drop 23% due to SARS and Iraq

HANOI - Vietnam expects a 23 percent drop in visitor arrivals this year compared to 2002 because of the war in Iraq and the SARS virus, an official said Tuesday. The communist country received 1 million visitors in the first half of 2003, said Pham Tu, deputy director of the Vietnam Administration of Tourism. It expects to get 2 million by year's end.

Last year, Vietnam had 2.6 million foreign visitors, and the country's initial target for this year was 2.8 million. However, that number was adjusted after the tourism industry was badly hurt by the war in Iraq and after an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome killed five people there. Vietnam was the first country in the world to successfully contain the virus in April.

The country has begun seeing an increase in foreign arrivals since June, Tu said. The Southeast Asian Games, the region's biggest sporting event, is to be held for the first time in Vietnam in early December. It is expected to help to attract more foreign visitors.

The Associated Press - July 29, 2003