An aerial shot captures the beauty of Diep Son Island near the famous resort town of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province.

Budget carrier Vietjet Air plans to operate daily return flights connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo from July 12 onwards. The flight takes six hours each way.

Thanks to visa exemptions, duty-free promotions and ancient tourist attractions, Japan has been attracting increasing numbers of Vietnamese tourists in recent years. Last year, 34,000 Vietnamese visited Japan, up 36.7 percent from a year ago.

The additional flights have a combined outbound and inbound focus.

From July 16, Vietjet will operate four flights a week connecting the beach resort town of Nha Trang in the central province of Khanh Hoa with South Korea’s Busan City. Flight time is almost five hours.

The low-cost airline is also planning four direct flights a week between Phu Quoc Island, dubbed Vietnam’s ‘Maldives,’ with Hong Kong.

Phu Quoc has gained worldwide popularity since it opened an international airport in 2012 and began offering a 30-day visa-free policy to foreigners in 2014.

Betting on a higher volume of Thai arrivals to central Vietnam, Malaysian budget airline AirAsia has announced flights from Chiang Mai to Da Nang City. The first daily flight is scheduled for April 12, and bookings are already open.

AirAsia will also launch a Kuala Lumpur – Can Tho service on April 8 with four flights a week and a Bangkok – Can Tho service from May 2 with three flights a week.

Can Tho City is famous for its Cai Rang floating market, which attracts millions of visitors every year.

Vietnamese carriers have been launching new international flights in recent years, with the domestic market showing signs of saturation.

The country’s aviation industry has been growing at the third fastest pace in Asia-Pacific. It welcomed 12.5 million air passengers last year, up 14.4 percent from 2017, according to the General Statistics Office.