Though Spain sends relatively few visitors to Vietnam, tourism promotion efforts are paying off with growth in Spanish arrivals soaring 141.6 per cent so far this year.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) said Wednesday that 7,410 Spanish travelers had visited the country in the seven months.

It attributed the increase to Vietnam’s presence at the Barcelona Tourism Fair last April and to travel agencies’ marketing efforts in recent years.

Although their number was still limited, the VNAT said Spanish tourists represented a promising market. They were not fussy, had generous budgets, and usually came on 9-13 day transnational tours during winter – the off-season here – when rooms were easily available, it said.

However, tour guides who can speak fluent Spanish are so few while there are no direct air routes between the two countries, which prevents more Spaniards from visiting Vietnam.