Vietnam accelerates strongly in the global tourism picture

International visitors excitedly watch traditional cultural performances when traveling to Vietnam. Photo: Hai Nguyen

According to data from the World Tourism Barometer Report November 2025 of UN Tourism, Vietnam recorded a 21% growth in international visitors in the first 9 months of 2025, among the highest growing destinations in the world.

The number of international visitors to Vietnam exceeded 15.4 million, 19.9% higher than in 2019 - the time before the Covid-19 pandemic.

UN Tourism said Vietnam was among the strong growth countries along with Brazil (45%), Egypt (21%), Ethiopia and Japan (18%), South Africa (17%), Sri Lanka and Mongolia (16%), and Morocco (14%). All of these destinations have recovered and exceeded pre-2019 levels.

Vietnam's impressive results were recorded in the context of the entire Asia Pacific region recovering only about 90%. According to the assessment, the stability and safety of the destination; open visa policy; unique natural and cultural resources; increasingly diverse tourism product system; service quality and friendliness of the people; innovative promotional activities and the fact that Vietnamese tourism is continuously honored by prestigious international organizations and media... are factors that help the industry maintain a strong recovery momentum. Vietnam expects to continue to grow in the peak season at the end of the year.

On a global scale, in the first 9 months of 2025, the world welcomed more than 1.1 billion international visitors, an increase of more than 50 million compared to the same period in 2024 (equivalent to 5%) and 3% higher than in 2019. Despite escalating costs, inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions, international tourism demand remains high.

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said international tourism will continue to move towards sustainability in 2025, not only in terms of arrivals but also in terms of total tourism receipts, although the market is still affected by inflation and a complex geopolitical context.

By region, Europe continues to lead the way with 625 million arrivals in the first nine months, up 4% from the same period in 2024. Africa grew by 10%, the Americas and the Middle East both by 2%. The Asia-Pacific region grew by 8%, with Northeast Asia seeing the strongest growth (16.6%), while Southeast Asia and Oceania saw slight increases (3.1% and 4.3%), while South Asia declined by 4.9%.

Compared to 2019, the Middle East has recovered the best (133%), followed by Africa (119%) and Europe (106%). The Americas are almost fully recovered (99%). Asia Pacific is only at 90%.

In addition, outbound spending continued to increase in many major source markets such as the US (+7%), France (+5%), Germany and Italy (+4%), Spain (+15%) and South Korea (+7%) - which are expected to continue to be important drivers of world tourism.

UN Tourism forecasts that the number of international visitors worldwide will increase by about 3-5% in 2025. The growth trend in the first 9 months of the year shows that the market is on track with expectations, but the global tourism industry still faces risks from geopolitical fluctuations and rising service prices. In that context, 2025 is still predicted to be a year of continued positive growth - with Vietnam being one of the most prominent destinations in the region.

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