Vietnam's Nov international arrivals reach yearly high

Vietnam received 1.23 million foreign visitors in November, up 10.9% from the previous month and the highest monthly number so far this year.

The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam has reached 11.2 million in the 11 months of the year and the country is striving to receive around 13 million by the year-end, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

In November, Europe posted the fastest growth rate among continents at 58.5% compared to the previous month, mainly from countries enjoying Vietnam’s unilateral visa exemption policy such as the UK (38.6%), France (72.5%), Germany (36.1%), Italy (55.1%), Denmark (32 .9%), Sweden 84.8%), Norway (52.7%), Finland (30.2%), and Spain (15.5%).

Starting August 15, Vietnam extended visa-free entry from 15 days to 45 days for passport holders from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. It has also extended the duration of e-visas from 30 days to three months with multiple entries.

In the first 11 months of this year, South Korea continued to be the largest source of tourists for Vietnam (3.2 million), followed by mainland China (1.5 million), Taiwan (758,000), the U.S. (658,000), and Japan (527,000). The rest of the top 10 was made up of Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Australia, and India.

During a recent conference chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung proposed the government consider granting short-term visa exemptions for Chinese and Indian tourists. China and India are now among Vietnam’s biggest tourism feeder markets.

Hung also suggested waivers for visitors from wealthy countries such as Australia, Canada, the U.S., and the remaining 20 members of the 27-member E.U.

Now only nationals of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland can enter Vietnam without a visa.

Hung has proposed expanding the visa exemption regime to boost tourism on several occasions as Southeast Asian countries are racing to attract foreign visitors with friendly visa policies.

Vietnam waives visas for nationals of 25 countries, while Malaysia and Singapore do so for 162, the Philippines for 157, and Thailand for 65.

Before the pandemic, Vietnam welcomed a record 18 million foreign arrivals,

Vietnamese carriers have recently launched a series of direct routes from popular tourist destinations such as Danang, Nha Trang, HCMC and Hanoi to Asian and European tourism hubs to cash in on the travel boom.

PM Pham Minh Chinh recently highlighted Vietnam’s outstanding advantages and opportunities to boost tourism, including stable political and security, good infrastructure, diverse natural landscapes, and unique cultural identity.

However, he pointed out that tourism development has yet to meet the country’s potential, with a modest number of visitors and poor tourism connectivity.