The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved a new tourism stimulus program for 2010 that will be officially launched Friday.

Under the "Vietnam Your destination" program, travel agencies and service providers nationwide will be encouraged to offer 10-30 percent discounts to both local and foreign customers.

Vu The Binh, head of the travel department at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said he expected to see "familiar names" of the industry in the program. His administration plans to spend VND1.7 billion to promote the program.

The government last year launched a similar national campaign called "Impressive Vietnam", which authorities found really successful in helping the tourism sector weather the global economic slump.

Foreign arrivals in the first two months this year rose 27.4 percent from a year ago to around 877,700, according to the General Statistics Office in Hanoi. Arrivals from many key markets increased sharply in the two-month period, with the number of Chinese tourists up 90.8 percent.

The country expects to receive 4.5-4.6 million foreign tourists this year, up 18-21 percent from 2009.