Vietnam welcomes record wave of international visitors

Vietnam welcomed 19.15 million international visitors in the first 11 months of 2025, marking a 21 per cent increase compared with the same period last year and surpassing the previous record of 18 million arrivals in 2019, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism reported. November saw especially strong growth from North American markets, with arrivals from the US up 30.5 per cent on-month and visitors from Canada nearly 56 per cent higher.

China remained Vietnam’s largest source market, with nearly 4.8 million visitors, followed by South Korea with just under 4 million.

Northeast Asia continued to dominate, with China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan accounting for 76 per cent of total arrivals, equivalent to around 10.5 million visitors.

China led growth momentum in the first 11 months, with a more than 43 per cent increase over the same period in 2024. Japan and the US also recorded solid gains of 15 per cent and 8.4 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, arrivals from South Korea edged down by 4.6 per cent. In contrast, Southeast Asian and Pacific markets recorded robust growth, led by India, up more than 47 per cent, and Australia, which rose by nearly 13 per cent.

European markets continued to benefit from Vietnam’s expanded visa exemptions. Arrivals from Poland increased by just under 42 per cent, followed by the UK at almost 21 per cent, France at around 21 per cent, Germany at 16.6 per cent, Italy at more than 21 per cent, Norway at just under 20 per cent, and Switzerland at 17 per cent.

Russia stood out with nearly 593,000 visitors, up over 190 per cent on-year, making it Vietnam’s largest European market and its fastest-growing.

Tourism-related revenues also showed solid performance. Accommodation and food services generated an estimated $30.7 billion in the first 11 months, accounting for 12 per cent of total retail and service sales. Travel services revenue reached around $3.4 billion, up nearly 20 per cent on-year.

As the industry heads into the year-end peak season, Vietnam is taking steps to capture rising demand, particularly from high-spending international travellers arriving by air, land, and sea. On December 2, the government issued Resolution 389, adding 41 new international checkpoints to the e-visa entry system, increasing the total to 83.

The expansion includes four additional airports, Long Thanh, Gia Binh, Vinh, and Chu Lai, designed to enhance direct access to key tourism regions. The largest increase, however, is at seaports, with 26 now authorised for e-visa entry. This is expected to support the strong rebound of cruise tourism, which attracts affluent visitors from the US, Europe, and Australia.

A further 11 land border gates have also been added, a move expected to boost cross-border caravan and self-drive tourism. These checkpoints are mostly located in northern and central provinces with significant landscape advantages but previously faced limited international traffic due to visa constraints.

Pham Hai Quynh, director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute, noted that the new policy will help unlock tourism flows from Laos, Thailand and China via road routes.

“This will create new momentum for border economies and open up additional growth opportunities for local tourism,” he said.