Vietnam welcomes nearly 9 million international visitors, officially surpassing 2023 target

Vietnam welcomed 8.9 million international visitors in the first 9 months of the year, 4.7 times higher than the same period in 2022, far exceeding the target of 8 million for the whole year of 2023.

International visitors to Vietnam in September 2023 reached more than 1.05 million, down 13.4% compared to the previous month and 2.4 times higher than the same period last year. However, this is the third consecutive month that the tourism industry has welcomed over 1 million visitors.

Foreign visitors watch the Thien Cau dance in Hoi An, Quang Nam to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in September 2023. Photo: Nguyen Linh

South Korea continued to be the largest market sending visitors in the first 9 months of 2023 with nearly 2.6 million arrivals (accounting for 29% of total arrivals). The Chinese market surpassed the 1 million arrivals mark, ranking second.

Taiwan (China) market surpassed the US to take the 3rd place with 575,000 visits. The US ranked 4th with 548,000 visits. Japan ranked 5th with 414,000 visits.

The top 10 markets also include three Southeast Asian markets: Thailand (351,000 visits); Malaysia (333,000 visits); Cambodia (289,000 visits). Australia ranked 9th (283,000 visits); India ranked 10th (278,000 visits).

Some major markets with good recovery rates include the US with 96.4%; South Korea with 82.3%; Taiwan (China) with a growth rate of 85.3%.

Southeast Asian markets with positive recovery rates: Malaysia (76.9%), Philippines (84%). In particular, some markets are even higher than the same period before the pandemic: Thailand (101.7%); Singapore (106.5%); Cambodia (267.1%). In South Asia, the Indian market also has an impressive recovery (240%).

Optimistic signals also came from major markets in Europe: Germany recovered the best with 87.1%; Spain reached 82.4%; UK reached 78.9%; slightly lower were Italy (76.7%); France (71.9%).

The 10 largest tourist sending markets in the first 9 months of 2023, in thousands of arrivals. Photo: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

However, the traditional Chinese market has only recovered 28.2%. Before the pandemic, the Chinese market accounted for nearly one-third of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam. During the 2015-2019 period, the number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam increased 3.3 times from 1.78 million to 5.8 million.

Entering the peak international tourist season in the last months of the year and taking advantage of the new visa exemption and e-visa policy effective from August 15, the tourism industry can fully expect the number of international tourists to continue to increase rapidly in the coming time.

Laodong.vn