(VNF) - Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien has signed a decision to allow the establishment of the first representative office of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in Vietnam.

The announcement was made at a recent meeting of the Vietnam-Japan Tourism Cooperation Committee held by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Japan National Tourism Agency.

Japanese tourists in Vietnamese traditional ao dai take photos in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the representative office aims to provide Vietnamese people with information about Japan, supporting Vietnamese to handle tourism administrative procedures and strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between the two nations.

Vietnam and Japan have enjoyed robust tourism following a mutual announcement on tourism cooperation between two sides and the establishment of the Vietnam-Japan Tourism Cooperation Committee in 2015.

In 2010-2015, the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan increased 4.4 times to 185,000 in 2015 from 42,000 in 2010, with an average growth of 35 per cent per year.

Last year, the number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam reached more than 671,000. In the past ten months, Japanese tourists to Vietnam surged 11 per cent to 611,000 compared to the same period last year. This year, Vietnam expects to welcome nearly 750,000 Japanese visitors.

Five airlines run services between the two countries. In the first half of 2016, the total number of round-trip passengers reached 945,000 and is expected to hit 1.9 million this year.

The Vietnam Tourism Association set up its first tourism representative office in Tokyo in 2014. The office at Villa Pinede 101, 8-10-36 Akasaka, Tokyo 107 - 0052 was jointly set up by the Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) and the Viet Nam Society./.

( Compiled by VNF )