The visitors included 300 passengers abroad a Vietnam Airlines’ flight from Moscow and 250 passengers aboard an EVA Airways’ flight from Taipei which landed at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 9: 35am and 9: 45am, respectively.

The municipal tourism sector is expected to welcome 3 million foreign visitors this year, 300, 000 visitors higher than the 2007 number. It grossed VND 24 trillion in tourism revenue last year, an increase of 45% from 2006.

Also on January 1, the Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed the first cruise ship of the year, the five-star cruise liner Costa Allegra with 1, 350 passengers and sailors a board, at the Saigon Port.

Saigontourist had, by the end of last November, received 40, 167 sea cruise tourists, representing a year-on-year increase of 159%.