Vietnam fulfills half of 2024 foreign tourist goal

Vietnam welcomed 8.8 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of 2024, reaching nearly half of its inbound tourism target of 18 million this year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The six-month tally, including 1.2 million in June (up 28.1% year-on-year), was a 58.4% year-on-year rise and surpassed the same period of pre-pandemic 2019 by 4.1%.

This marks a positive sign for Vietnam’s inbound tourism sector amid off-season international travel, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism said.

By region, Asia still tops the list of foreign visitors to Vietnam in H1, with 6.94 million arrivals, up 65.7% year-on-year. Europe ranked second with nearly 1.06 million (up 52.4%), followed by the Americas with 536,800 (up 13.4%) and Oceania with 266,600 (up 31.8%).

Regarding countries and territories, South Korea has been leading the tourist rush to Vietnam since the latter’s reopening in March 2022 following the pandemic, except for May when South Korea was overtaken by China.

South Korea made up the biggest share of 2.28 million in H1, or 30%; followed by mainland China with 1.89 million (25%), Taiwan with 630,000 (7.15%), and the U.S. with 415,000 (4.7%).

The Northeast Asian region continues to provide the biggest boost to Vietnam’s inbound tourism revival, with mainland China witnessing the fastest year-on-year growth rate of 339.4%.

In the six-month period, air travel was the most popular mode of transportation for foreign visitors to Vietnam, with 7.4 million passenger arrivals, up 51.6% year-on-year.

At present, Vietnam unilaterally waives visa requirements for citizens from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Belarus. They can stay for 45 days from the date of entry, regardless of passport types and entry purposes.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said in March that his ministry was in negotiations with 15 countries to mutually exempt visas for citizens to boost tourism.