Foreign arrivals to Viet Nam up nearly 40% in 2024

International arrivals to Viet Nam reached more than 17.5 million in 2024, marking a 39.5 percent increase from the previous year. 

According to the latest report from the General Statistics Office, over 14.8 million foreigners arrived by air, accounting for 84.4 percent of the total. More than 2.5 million visitors entered Viet Nam by land, making up 14.2 percent, while 248,100 others arrived by sea.

Nearly 80 percent of foreign arrivals in Viet Nam in 2024 hailed from Asia, 11.3 percent from Europe, 5.7 percent from America and 0.3 percent from Africa.

South Korea remained Viet Nam's top tourist source market, with 4.5 million, making up 25.98 percent. It was followed by China with 3.7 million visitors and Taiwan with 1.29 million.

An impressive surge was noted in visitors from India with 138,000 visitors in 2022 to 501,000 ones in 2024, making India the 6th biggest tourist source market of Viet Nam. 

These figures underscore the pivotal role of Northeast Asian markets in driving Viet Nam's inbound tourism growth, remarkably China (up 214.4 percent), South Korea (27.1 percent), Japan (20.7 percent) and Taiwan (51.4 percent) compared to 2023.

Southeast Asian markets also showed promising performance, with notable increases from Indonesia (74.7 percent), the Philippines (73.6 percent), Laos (23.3 percent), Cambodia (18 percent), Malaysia (5.4 percent), and Singapore (5.9 percent).

European markets likewise saw significant growth in visitors to Viet Nam, including the United Kingdom (up 20.8 percent), France (29.4 percent), Germany (24.5 percent), Italy (55.8 percent), Spain (20.1 percent), Russia (84.9 percent), Denmark (22.1 percent), Norway (23 percent), and Sweden (33 percent).

This growth can be attributed to Viet Nam's policy of granting unilateral visa exemptions to nationals from these countries, allowing them to stay in Viet Nam for up to 45 days, a measure introduced on August 15, 2023.

The nation is targeting to welcome 22-23 million foreign arrivals by the end of this year.