Vietnam reports 10.7 Mn international arrivals in Jan - May 2026, up 20.7% YoY
Vietnam tourism representative image
With 21.2 million international visitor arrivals, Vietnam surpassed Singapore and Indonesia to rank third in ASEAN, behind only Malaysia and Thailand.
According to online reports, Vietnam's tourism sector continues to build on its post-pandemic momentum. The latest figures reinforce the country's position as one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations in Southeast Asia.
In 2010, Vietnam welcomed around 5 million international visitors, twenty times the figure recorded in 1990.
The industry is said to have maintained steady growth, with international arrivals reaching nearly 8 million in 2015. The Politburo’s Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW, issued in 2017, identified tourism as a spearhead economic sector, providing a major boost to institutional reform, investment and product development.
The policy helped position Vietnam among the world’s fastest-growing tourism destinations, with international arrivals increasing at an average annual rate of 22% between 2015 and 2019. Post pandemic, the country fully reopened to international visitors in March 2022. Vietnam welcomed around 17.6 million international visitors in 2024, equivalent to 98% of pre-pandemic levels.
The recovery reportedly gathered further momentum in 2025, when foreign arrivals surged to nearly 21.2 million, an increase of more than 20 per cent compared with the previous year and well above the record set in 2019, marking the highest annual figure so far. Growth said to have continued into 2026, where in the first five months of the year, Vietnam received nearly 10.7 million international visitors, up 20.7 per cent year on year.
Tourism’s development is reflected not only in rising visitor numbers but also in its growing contribution to the national economy. From around VNĐ96 trillion in the 1990s, annual tourism revenue surpassed VNĐ1 quadrillion for the first time in 2025.
With 21.2 million international visitor arrivals, Vietnam surpassed Singapore and Indonesia to rank third in ASEAN, behind only Malaysia and Thailand.
