These days, pubs, restaurants and other recreational centres in BinhThuan province’s Mui Ne resort are crowded with Russian tourists enjoying their holidays on the occasion of Vietnam’s V-day celebrations.

According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, more than 130,550 Russian tourists arrived in the province last year, making up 36.7 percent of the total number of foreign visitors to the locality.

More Russian visitors prefer travelling to Vietnam's central region for the holiday season  (Photo:TTO)

Meanwhile, many restaurants and shops in Khanh Hoa province’s Nha Trang city are advertising their products and services in the Russian language.

AndreyMolorov, a Russian visitor, says he is interested in beautiful beaches and nice weather condition in Vietnam’s central region. “If I have another chance to visit Vietnam again, I will come back to Nha Trang city to enjoy many specialties that cannot be found anywhere else in the world,” he says.

Alexandre, another tourist from Russia, expresses his pleasure at tasty food, saying that tourism services in Mui Ne are good and cheap.


Ton That Hung from Coco Café tour operator says nearly 30 percent of his customers come from Russia. After visiting Mui Ne, many Russian tourists continue their trip to NhaTrang city and the romantic Central Highland resort of Da Lat.

Tran Anh Thi, executive director of Seahorse hotel, says about 45 percent of his guests are Russian tourists who are keen on beach tours.

The Khanh Hoa provincial Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism reports Russian tourists top the list of international visitors to Nha Trang, with nearly 100,000 Russians visiting the city in 2012.

To meet the increasing demand from Russian visitors, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has launched a direct air route from Moscow to Nha Trang, operating two flights a week.

NhaTrang-based Anh Duong tour operator is cooperating with Pegas Touristik travel agent to open 19 direct air routes connecting Nha Trang to 22 cities in Russia.

Le Van Nghia, a representative of Russia’s Transaero Airlines in Vietnam, says his firm has decided to conduct three flights a week from Moscow to HCM City right this summer.

The Vietnam Tourism Administration (VNAT) statistics show Russia was among Vietnam’s top ten markets last year. The first four months of this year saw a year-on-year increase of 50 percent in Russian arrivals to Vietnam.

Experts suggest Vietnam should tap its huge potential, especially beautiful beaches, for tourism development to attract more foreign visitors, including those from Russia, each year.

Apart from increasing tourism products and services, they say, Vietnamese tour guides should improve their Russian language to serve Russian-speaking tourists in the future.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has agreed to allocate VND6.3 billion to Khanh Hoa to train local students and tour guides in Russian.

 VOV Online