HANOI — Vietnam is estimated to welcome over 2.2 million Chinese visitors in the first seven months of this year, up 51 percent against the same period last year, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said on Friday.

Vietnam this year has so far received a total of over 7.2 million foreign visitors, up 28.8 percent, with the highest growth of 51 percent in the number of tourists from China, followed by Russia, South Korea, Spain, Cambodia and the Philippines.

From March to July, the country hosted over one million international arrivals each month.

Vietnam is actively promoting its major tourist sites in Chinese cities and cooperating with local authorities to handle poorly-performing travel agencies, hoping to lure some 4 million Chinese visitors this year, said the administration, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Last year, Vietnam welcomed more than 10 million foreign visitors, including 2.7 million Chinese tourists, seeing respective rises of 26 percent and 51.4 percent.