International visitors flock, Vietnam tourism sets unprecedented record

According to a report from the General Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance), in March 2025, Vietnam welcomed over 2 million international visitors, an increase of 28.5% over the same period last year. The cumulative number in the first quarter of 2025 reached over 6 million visitors - the highest quarterly number ever, and an increase of 134% compared to the first quarter of 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. This result continues the impressive recovery of the tourism industry when in 2024, the number of international visitors recovered 98% compared to 2019.

China continued to be the leading market with 1.58 million visitors, a sharp increase of 78.3% compared to the same period in 2024. South Korea ranked second with 1.26 million visitors, an increase of 2.2%. These two markets accounted for 47% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first three months of the year.

The following markets were Taiwan (China), 331 thousand arrivals, up 10.2%), the US (259 thousand arrivals, up 11.3%), Cambodia (234 thousand arrivals, up 105.6%), Japan (226 thousand arrivals, up 26.3%), Australia (147 thousand arrivals, up 11.0%), India (143 thousand arrivals, up 23.3%), Malaysia (141 thousand arrivals), and Russia (125 thousand arrivals, up 110.5%).

In addition to the traditional major markets, the Southeast Asian region recorded positive growth. Of which, the number of visitors from Cambodia more than doubled compared to the same period, the Philippines increased by nearly 95.1%, Laos increased by 52.7%, Indonesia increased by 6.9%, and Thailand increased by 4.7%. The European market continued to grow by double digits, especially in countries that are enjoying Vietnam's unilateral visa exemption policy such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Notably, the number of visitors from Italy increased by 29%, France increased by 28.3%, Germany increased by 23.3%, and Sweden increased by 18.7%. The Russian market, which had been in sharp decline due to geopolitical influences, is recovering strongly with an increase of more than 110%.

One of the factors contributing to the growth of international visitors in the first quarter was the Government's issuance of Resolution 11/NQ-CP, which exempts short-term visas for citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland from March 1 to December 31, 2025, within the framework of the 2025 Tourism Development Stimulus Program. After just one month of implementation, the number of visitors from Poland increased by 52.9% and from Switzerland by 14.1% compared to the same period in 2024. This is a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the visa policy in expanding the market and attracting high-spending, long-stay visitors from Europe.

With impressive growth momentum at the beginning of the year, Vietnam's tourism industry is aiming to welcome 22 million to 23 million international visitors in 2025. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is synchronously implementing solutions from promoting, improving service quality to innovating products and increasing the attractiveness of destinations. The 2025 tourism development stimulus program is considered the focus to maintain the recovery momentum and create a breakthrough in the context of increasingly fierce international competition.

Thanh Ha

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/khach-quoc-te-do-ve-du-lich-viet-nam-lap-ky-luc-chua-tung-co-post544635.html