Tourism sets record for welcoming international visitors

The first three months of the year were bumper crops.

The latest statistics from the National Tourism Administration show that international visitors to Vietnam in March 2025 reached more than 2.05 million, an increase of nearly 29% over the same period in 2024. In the first quarter, the country welcomed more than 6 million visitors, an increase of nearly 30% and the highest number of visitors in a quarter ever in Vietnam. Among the 10 largest tourism markets in Vietnam, China leads with 1.58 million visitors; South Korea is second with 1.26 million visitors. These two markets contribute 47% of the total number of visitors to Vietnam.

Notably, visitors from Russia, Cambodia, the Philippines and China were considered the growth drivers of the first quarter with the highest increases, at 210%, 205%, 195% and 178% respectively. China and Russia were the two leading international visitor markets of the Vietnamese tourism industry before the Covid-19 pandemic. For a number of reasons, these two markets have both suffered a regrettable decline in recent years. However, in recent times, the number of visitors from these two markets has continuously shown signs of strong growth. Although the absolute number has not yet returned to the level of 2019, the impressive recovery of these two major visitor markets is considered by the Department of Tourism to be extremely important, creating momentum and confidence for the Vietnamese tourism industry to achieve major goals ahead.

International tourists arriving in Nha Trang by sea, February 2025

PHOTO: BA DUY

PHOTO: BA DUY

In addition, the Polish and Swiss markets also recorded an increase in the number of visitors, 52.9% and 14.1% respectively compared to the same period in 2024. This positive result is assessed to be due to the impact of the Government's issuance of Resolution 11 on short-term visa exemption for citizens of the above countries under the 2025 Tourism Development Stimulus Program. The policy is expected to create momentum to attract more visitors from this European market this year.

The number of visitors increased to a record, across the country, each locality also took turns "showing off" a bumper tourist season at the beginning of the year. Welcoming more than 1.63 million foreign visitors in the past 3 months, an increase of 18.2% over the same period last year and reaching 19.2% compared to the 2025 plan, the tourism industry in Ho Chi Minh City contributed 19,245 billion VND in revenue to the city budget, an increase of 20.5% over the same period in 2024. This also included a significant contribution from the spending of nearly 3 million domestic visitors, although the growth rate was not high, only increasing by 6.3%.

In absolute terms, the revenue of 2,600 billion VND from tourism activities in the first 3 months of the year of Hue City is quite small compared to Ho Chi Minh City, but the growth rate is nearly 3 times higher, reaching 53% over the same period last year. This impressive result is thanks to the fact that since the beginning of the year, Hue has organized many unique cultural festivals, especially the successful organization of the National Tourism Year Opening Ceremony associated with Hue Festival, which created a highlight, stimulated demand, and attracted nearly 1.5 million visitors, an increase of 62%. Of which, international visitors to the ancient capital are estimated at more than 650,000, an increase of nearly 50%.

The General Statistics Office recorded that revenue from accommodation and catering services in the first quarter in other localities also increased sharply, such as Quang Ninh increased by 20.1%; Da Nang increased by 16.7%; Hanoi increased by 14.9%; Hai Phong increased by 14.6%; Khanh Hoa increased by 11.4%; Can Tho increased by 11.2%...

Economic breakthrough momentum

Nationwide, revenue from accommodation and catering services in the first quarter increased sharply by 14% compared to the same period last year, estimated at VND200,100 billion, accounting for 11.7% of total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue. Along with that, tourism revenue was also estimated at VND21,500 billion, up 18.3%; other service revenue was estimated at VND175,000 billion, accounting for 10.2% of the total and up 12.5%. "High domestic consumption demand during the holidays and Tet at the beginning of the year along with the high number of international visitors to Vietnam are factors that positively contribute to the growth of the trade and service sector, contributing to the 6.93% GDP growth of the entire economy in the first 3 months of the year," the General Statistics Office explained.

Ho Chi Minh City reaps bumper harvest as it welcomes more than 1.6 million international visitors in the first 3 months of 2025

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

In general, in terms of the overall economic situation, Prof. Dr. Vo Xuan Vinh, Director of the Institute of Business Research, Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, assessed that in order to achieve the target of 8% GDP growth in 2025 and double-digit growth in the coming years, Vietnam's economy still has to rely on the main driving forces, which are consumption, investment, government spending and export. In which, consumption still accounts for a large proportion of Vietnam's GDP structure. After a period of stagnation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, domestic consumption is showing a significant increase, increasing by more than 30% in 2024 compared to 2019.

According to Mr. Vinh, encouraging people to spend and stimulating consumption has always been a "weapon" for major economies in the world to create momentum for the economy to move and develop. However, about 77% of domestic consumption is still essential goods; other services and products account for a small proportion, showing that people are still relatively frugal. To encourage spending, there needs to be policies that not only stimulate domestic consumers but also a very important group, which is foreign tourists coming to Vietnam.

"If the tourism industry achieves the target of welcoming 22-23 million international visitors this year, and at the same time has products and services that make visitors spend a lot, this will be one of the key factors promoting domestic consumption to become a driving force for economic breakthroughs," emphasized Professor, Dr. Vo Xuan Vinh.

Foreign tourists visit Hanoi

PHOTO: NGOC THANG

Sharing the same view, Chairman of Vietravel Corporation Nguyen Quoc Ky analyzed: Tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, so if tourism is promoted, it will have a spillover effect on many other economic sectors. Not only consumption and services, but real estate, infrastructure, etc. can also flourish immediately if there are vibrant tourism activities. Because in the proportion of the local economic structure, the construction and industrial economy are very interested and focused on. When tourism develops, the tourism real estate and resort real estate sectors will also revive, thereby increasing the proportion of the industrial and construction sectors. Along with that, tourism also makes an important contribution to the knowledge economy, through digital transformation from the online sales network system, connecting and operating OTA channels, etc.

"It can be seen that tourism plays an important role in activating all industries that are considered the main driving force to help Vietnam's economy achieve high growth of 8% this year, which are investment, consumption, services, and digital economy. The most important thing is the very fast spread rate. To achieve a large economic goal in a relatively short time, nothing is more effective than strongly promoting the development of tourism and services," Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky affirmed.

Tourism plays an important role in activating all the sectors that are considered the main driving force to help Vietnam's economy achieve high growth of 8% this year, which are investment, consumption, services, and digital economy. To achieve a large economic target in a relatively short time, nothing is more effective than strongly promoting the development of tourism and services.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of Vietravel Corporation

Convergence of many opportunities to step into new fortunes

Despite recording many positive results through optimistic figures, in a document recently sent to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, experts from the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) are still concerned that Vietnam's tourism is at risk of falling behind its main competitors in the region, especially Thailand and Malaysia. Specifically, in terms of context, in 2024, Vietnam's tourism has recovered to almost pre-pandemic levels with 17.6 million international visitors, while Thailand is only 12% away from reaching 40 million pre-pandemic visitors and Malaysia is only 4% away from returning to 25 million international visitors.

Foreign tourists crowded at Ti Top Island pier in Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh), March 2025

PHOTO: LA NGHI HIEU

TAB assessed that to achieve the above results, our competitors are making drastic changes in visa policies. For example, Thailand has expanded the number of visa-free countries from 57 to 93 and increased the number of countries eligible for visa-on-arrival from 19 to 31. Malaysia also exempts visas for 158 countries; at the same time, both countries have implemented new types of visas. Meanwhile, Vietnam currently only exempts visas for 30 countries.

In addition, countries also implement many specific, special, specialized visa programs for many target groups to attract a variety of foreigners to travel, invest, work, and contribute to the economy. Therefore, to realize the very high growth target in the coming period, TAB believes that the visa expansion policy is not only a single solution but also considered an indispensable part of the overall strategy, an important tool to promote growth.

TAB proposed that the Government consider specific visa types such as: Vietnam Golden Visa with a term of 5 - 10 years, with the possibility of extension, longer than the current term of 1 - 2 years; Investor Visa with a term of 10 years, with a roadmap to become a permanent resident after 5 years if the investment level is maintained; Talent Visa with a term of 5 years, with a simple renewal process. These programs can be piloted in some localities with good conditions such as Phu Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, etc.

Fully supporting the above proposals, Mr. Dang Minh Truong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Group, said that billionaires are a high-spending, demanding and high-class customer segment; if Vietnam can approach and exploit them successfully, it will bring huge value in terms of revenue for tourism.

Looking back at the recovery process of Vietnam's tourism after the pandemic so far, Mr. Dang Minh Truong said that our country's tourism is converging many opportunities to enter a new era. In recent years, Vietnam's tourism development policies have changed dramatically, clearly demonstrating the determination of the Party and State in turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector. This change does not stop at the level of awareness but has been concretized into drastic and practical actions that are close to reality. The most impressive thing is that the visa policy is increasingly flexible and relaxed, creating favorable conditions for international tourists to come to Vietnam and the effectiveness of the visa policy has been confirmed through international visitor growth data. However, it has not yet created a breakthrough strength, especially when placed next to "competitors" such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, etc. This is both a disadvantage but at the same time it also shows that Vietnam's tourism still has a lot of room to exploit and develop explosively.

Therefore, Sun Group leaders proposed that the Government and relevant ministries and agencies continue to remove and expand the list of visa-free countries, especially prioritizing target and potential markets such as New Zealand, Australia, China, India; groups of visitors from emerging and high-potential markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Central Asian countries, European and North American visitors, etc.

Proposing mechanisms and policies to facilitate tourism

From the perspective of the management agency, Director of the National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh affirmed that Vietnam has great potential for tourism development, especially natural resources, scenic spots, historical relics, cultural heritages, especially heritages recognized by UNESCO... The growth rate of tourism in recent times, along with international recognition and strong internal movements, tourism industry leaders have complete confidence in the resilience of Vietnam's tourism in the coming time.

"With the orientation of focusing on depth, quality, professionalism, sustainability, and brand, Vietnam tourism in the coming time will focus on improving service quality; focusing on building increasingly classy products to bring truly unique and impressive experience values ​​to tourists. At the same time, synchronously deploy tasks and solutions to promote the development of the industry, adapting to conditions in the new development stage. In particular, we will focus on implementing from innovating tourism promotion methods to proposing mechanisms and policies to facilitate tourism activities...", Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh informed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/du-lich-lap-ky-luc-don-khach-quoc-te-185250407221907561.htm