International tourists to Vietnam in July highest since the pandemic

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that in July 2023, Vietnam welcomed 1,038.6 million international visitors, up 6.5% over the previous month. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of international visitors to Vietnam increased by 194.6%.

This is the first month since the beginning of 2023 and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourism industry welcomed over 1 million international visitors.

In the first 7 months, the total number of international visitors reached nearly 6.6 million, an increase of 592.8% over the same period last year, equivalent to 83% of the 2023 plan.

Of which, Europe had the best growth among the continents, up 27% compared to June 2023.

In particular, the markets with high growth rates, the main contributors are the UK with 14.5%, France increased by 35.9%, Germany increased by 27.3%. In addition, Norway increased strongly with 250.8%, the Belgian market increased by 154%, Denmark increased by 152%, the Netherlands increased by 44.6%, Spain increased by nearly 53%.

Top 10 customer sending markets in the first 7 months of 2023 (thousand visits) (Source: General Statistics Office).

In July, many leading markets of Vietnamese tourism increased compared to the previous month: South Korea increased by 6%, China increased by 14%, the US increased by 7%, Taiwan increased by 31.3%, Japan increased by 15%, Australia increased by 34.3%.

However, some nearby markets in the Southeast Asian region decreased, such as Thailand down 19.1%, Malaysia down 24.5% and Cambodia down 9.8%.

In terms of market size, South Korea continued to be the largest market sending visitors in the first 7 months of 2023 with nearly 1.9 million arrivals (accounting for nearly 1/3 of the total number of visitors). China ranked second, reaching 738,000 arrivals; the US ranked third with 445,000 arrivals.

In the top 10 leading markets, Northeast Asia has 4 markets: Korea (1,888 million visits), China (738,000 visits), Taiwan - China (415,000 visits), Japan (284,000 visits).

Southeast Asia has three markets: Thailand (290,000 arrivals), Malaysia (262,000 arrivals) and Cambodia (225,000 arrivals). Australia is ranked 9th and India is ranked 10th.

In Europe, the UK, France and Germany are the largest markets for visitors. The Russian market also saw a return of visitors, with nearly 70,000 in the first seven months of the year.

With 83% of the yearly plan for welcoming international visitors achieved after only the first 7 months of the year, it is likely that the tourism industry will soon complete the target.

Regarding domestic visitors, in July 2023, Vietnam reached 12.5 million arrivals, of which 8.3 million were overnight visitors. The total number of domestic visitors in the first 7 months of the year reached 76.5 million. Total revenue from tourists in the first 7 months of the year is estimated at 416.6 trillion VND.

When traveling to Vietnam, which country's tourists spend the most money?

Not visitors from Europe, America or Australia, but visitors to Vietnam with the highest average spending come from a country in the ASEAN region.

Opening visa 'bottlenecks', eagerly welcoming new visitors

In order for Vietnam to become a luxury tourism market, welcoming high-spending, long-stay guests, the tourism industry must change and have clear policies. The opening of the visa bottleneck is the first step to welcoming new visitors.

Vietnam 'running out of steam' in the race to promote tourism

Considered the 'trump card' in promoting, promoting, and inviting international visitors, all countries have tourism representative offices abroad. For Vietnam, the budget for promotion is low, and it is also slow in opening representative offices.

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