Visa policies, festivals drive foreign visitors to Vietnam up 20% to 15.4m
Vietnam saw international arrivals hike in nine months thanks to open visa policies and celebrations of national historical events. Top source markets included China, South Korea, Japan and the United States.
THE HANOI TIMES — Better visa policies, tourism promotion campaigns and a series of national holiday festivals helped Vietnam welcome about 15.4 million international visitors in the first nine months of 2025, a 20% increase compared to last year.
International tourists visit Hanoi’s Old Quarter. Photo: The Hanoi Times
According to the General Statistics Office, the country in September received 1.5 million foreign travelers, up 20% year-on-year. In August, international arrivals reached 1.7 million, rising 16.5% against the same month of 2024.
Hanoi welcomed around 666,700 international visitors, an impressive 47% rise over a year, confirming the capital’s strong recovery and growing appeal as a cultural and tourism hub.
By mode of transport, air arrivals reached 13 million, accounting for 85% of the total and up 22%. Land arrivals stood at two million (up 19%), while sea arrivals hit 190,600 (up 15%).
By region, Asia remained the largest market with 12 million visitors, increasing 21%. Europe followed with 1.9 million (up 35%), the Americas with 800,000 (up 8.5%), Australia with 445,000 (up 14%) and Africa with 40,700 (up 4.7%).
China, South Korea, Taiwan (China), the United States and Japan were the top five source markets during the period. China led with nearly 3.9 million arrivals, followed by South Korea with 3.2 million, Taiwan with 926,400, the US with nearly 622,600 and Japan with some 618,000.
Several markets recorded remarkable growth over a year, including Russia (up 273%), the Philippines (192%), Cambodia (150%), Poland (146%) and India (143%).
Tourism revenue rose 21% on-year to nearly VND70 trillion (US$2.7 billion) in the nine-month period thanks to new products, inter-regional tours and attractive travel stimulus programs across the country.
In September alone, tourism revenue was estimated at VND8.3 trillion ($315 million), up 20%, while third-quarter revenue reached VND24.3 trillion ($922 million), up 19% on-year.
Several destinations posted outstanding growth, including Ho Chi Minh City (24%), Hanoi (22%), Quang Ninh (20%) and Danang (13%).
In a report released today (October 6), the General Statistics Office said that the strong performance in tourism comes from favorable visa policies, enhanced tourism promotion and vibrant national celebrations.
Vietnam’s tourism industry aims to attract 25 million international visitors in 2025.
Tourism experts said expanding visa exemptions, developing cruise tourism, opening more international air routes, diversifying tourism products and improving destination management are essential to sustain growth.
Since August 15, Vietnam has extended visa exemption to citizens of 12 European countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. The exemption allows visitors to stay up to 45 days for tourism purposes, aiming to boost inbound travel.
