Travellers came from traditional markets such as Japan, Russia, France, the United States, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.

The rise was attributable to a growing number of overseas Vietnamese who returned to the home country as the city is hosting celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the National Tourism Year.

Thanks to a longer Tet holiday, the number of outbound tourists also surged remarkably to some 20,000, mainly to Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, domestic holidaymakers on this occasion numbered 1 million despite a 20% rise in tour costs, the department said.