Hanoi - Vietnam may fail to realize its target of attracting 5 million foreign visitors this year due to high inflation, which has reached 25 per cent, an official said Thursday.

Vietnam has so far attracted 2.29 million foreign visitors this year, up 8.1 per cent year-on-year, according to Vu The Binh, director of Vietnam National Administration's Travel Department.

"The growth in the first half of this year is much lower than in the same period last year, which saw growth of 18 per cent," Binh said.

"The slowdown in the number of foreign visitors can be pinned to several factors, including high inflation."

Binh said the cost of hotel rooms grew significantly late last year and early this year. He added that prices are now cooling somewhat as the number of foreign visitors is not growing as expected.

The cost of hotel rooms in central Vietnam in the first three months of this year grew between 5 and 15 per cent from the same period last year, according to local newspaper Tuoi Tre. The cost of three- to five-star hotel rooms in Hanoi rose 68 per cent, while in Ho Chi Minh City prices have increased by up to 40 per cent annually over recent years.

The high cost of rooms can in part be attributed to demand outstripping supply. "With such high occupancy rates it was impossible to get bookings. Rates went up," said Maeve Nolan, Vietnam Product Manager of Exotissimo Travel. "Then fuel sky rocketed at the end of last year and it pushed up the prices of car rentals and boats."

"In this context of inflation, Vietnam may not be able to attract 5 million foreign visitors as targeted," Binh said.

According to the official, the ongoing Miss Universe pageant, which lasts from June 19 to July 14 in the central coast city of Nha Trang, has not had any particularly positive impact on the number of foreign visitors to the country.

"We hope that more international tourists will pour into Vietnam in early July when the final part of the Miss Universe contest takes place," Binh said.

Last year, Vietnam attracted 4.2 million foreign tourists. Most came from China, Japan and South Korea. (dpa)