Vietnam welcomes more international visitors than the whole of 2023

In the first 9 months of 2024, the total number of international visitors to Vietnam reached more than 12.7 million, higher than the figure of 12.6 million in the whole year of 2023.

International visitors explore Hanoi. Photo: Hai Nguyen

Vietnam welcomed nearly 1.3 million international visitors in September 2024, according to data released by the General Statistics Office. In the first 9 months of 2024, the total number of international visitors reached more than 12.7 million, an increase of 43.0% over the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, South Korea continued to be the largest market sending visitors to Vietnam in the first 9 months of 2024 with 3.3 million arrivals (accounting for 26.5%). China ranked second, reaching 2.7 million arrivals (accounting for 21.3%). These two markets accounted for 47.8% of the total number of international arrivals in the past 9 months, with a total of about 6 million arrivals.

The 10 largest tourist sending markets also include Taiwan (China), the US, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, India, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Northeast Asia is the main driver of international visitor growth.

The Chinese market increased by 141.4% over the same period in 2023; Korea increased by more than 30%, Japan increased by more than 27% and Taiwan (China) increased by more than 65%.

Tourists explore Bay Mau coconut forest, Hoi An city, Quang Nam. Photo: Tripadvisor

Nearby markets in the Asian region continued to grow well, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, India... The Thai market decreased by 14.3%.

European markets such as the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden... continue to grow vigorously. These are all markets that enjoy a unilateral visa exemption policy for entry into Vietnam with a temporary stay of up to 45 days.

According to the assessment of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, most markets have fully recovered, and some markets have even increased sharply compared to the same period in 2019. This is a positive signal showing that Vietnam is likely to achieve the target of welcoming 17-18 million international visitors this year.

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