Vietnam welcomes first visitors on 1st day of New Year   First international tourists to Ho Chi Minh City at Tan Son Nhat international airport on the 1st day of New Year.   First foreign tourists to Hoi An ancient town on the 1st day of New Year. Tuoi Tre Large crowds of international tourists arrived in Vietnam on the first day of the New Year. Ho Chi Minh City welcomed its first 180 foreign visitors of the year on board a flight from Hong Kong operated by Vietnam Airlines. They were presented with flowers and souvenir gifts by local authorities. Local travel agents said this time is the winter holiday season for Russians and those from Western Europe. They added that these tourists love to visit big cities in Vietnam like Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi or to buy trans-Vietnam tour packages. Also on Jan. 1, tourism authorities in Thua Thien Hue central province held a ceremony at Phu Bai international airport to welcome first 148 visitors consisting of more than 110 international tourists, mostly from Europe and America. Meanwhile, 21 tourists from Germany became the first international callers on New Year’s 1st day in Hoi An ancient town. According to official figures released by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), total international arrivals to the country in 12 months of 2013 reached 7,572,352, representing a 10,6% growth over the same period last year. 5,979,953 of them traveled to Vietnam by air, 1,399,138 by road, and 193,261 by sea. Chinese became the largest group of visitors to Vietnam with 1,907,794 followed by Japanese (604,050), Americans (432,228), Taiwanese (398,990), Cambodians (342,347), Malaysians (339,510), and Australia (319,636). Total tourism revenues in 2013 have been estimated at VND81.970 trillion, up 15% over the last year, said VNAT. TUOI TRE