International Tourism Experiences Steady Growth in First Half of 2023

There is high possibility that Vietnam will exceed the target of welcoming 8 million international visitors this year, said Deputy Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu.

July 08, 2023 | 15:13

In June 2023, Vietnam welcomed 975,000 international arrivals, an increase of 6.4% compared to May, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism reported. For the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam welcomed about 5.57 million international arrivals, accounting for about 69% of the estimated number of arrivals for 2023 and equal to about 66% of the same period in 2019. Together with 64 million domestic tourists, Vietnam's total tourism revenue in the first half of 2023 is estimated at VND 343.1 trillion (about US $14.4 billion).

Ho Chi Minh City earned the highest tourism revenue

International Tourism Experiences Steady Growth in First Half of 2023

Korean visitors stroll at Ho Chi Minh City Book Street. Photo: VNA

In tourism revenues by localities, many cities and provinces earned record-breaking numbers with over VND 10.000 billion. Ho Chi Minh City was spotted at No.1 in tourism revenue, reaching VND 80,833 billion. The city welcomed more than 16,415 million domestic visitors, up 48% over the same period in 2022. The number of international visitors is estimated at more than 1,941 million arrivals, an increase of 306 % over the same period. Total revenue increased 62.7% over the same period in 2022.

Hanoi came in No.2 with a revenue of VND 44,880 billion. According to the Hanoi Department of Tourism, in the first 6 months of 2023, the total number of tourists to Hanoi reached 12.33 million, an increase of 42% over the same period in 2022. In which, international tourists reached 2.03 million arrivals, up 7 times over the same period in 2022. Domestic tourists reached 10.3 million arrivals, up 22.6% over the same period in 2022.

Other outstanding names on the list of highest tourism revenues are Quang Ninh (VND 16,660 billion), Thanh Hoa (VND 15 billion) and Khanh Hoa (VND 12,567 billion).

North Asian Tourist in top 5 international inbounds

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also announced the top 10 markets of international visitors to Vietnam in the first half of this year.

Tourists from South Korea continued to lead with more than 1.6 million arrivals, accounting for 28% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam. The Chinese market ranked second (557,000), and the US third (374,000). Particularly in June, the US had the best growth in the markets, up 52% compared to May.

By region, markets in Northeast Asia account for the most with four markets: Korea, China, Taiwan (322,000), and Japan (241,000).

Many Southeast Asian countries also contributed to the international inbounds to Vietnam with three representatives such as Thailand (266,000), Malaysia (232,000) and Cambodia (198,000). Australia ranked 9th with 185,000 visits and 10th was India.

In the European market, the countries with the most visitors to Vietnam, although not in the top 10, are the UK (nearly 130,000), France (nearly 106,000) and Germany (99,200). The Russian tourist market reached 62,000 arrivals in the first six months of the year, equaling 17% before the epidemic.

Vietnam is the most-searched Southeast Asia destination in 2023

A scene on the Hoai River, Hoi An in the movie "A Tourist's Guide to Love" (Photo: Netflix).

Earlier this year, 103 Vietnamese restaurants and eateries were honored by the Michelin Guide on the world culinary map, including 4 restaurants with 1 Michelin star. The Canadian travel site The Travel has also selected Vietnam as one of the top 10 most affordable countries to work remotely worldwide.

According to data from Google's Destination Insights travel trend tracker, over the past 6 months, the number of searches about Vietnam tourism has continuously grown at the top of the world. From 11th to 6th place, Vietnam is the only destination in Southeast Asia in this group. These good news show that Vietnam is attracting international tourists more than ever.

Also, the newly-approved visa policy is expected to promote the development of the tourism industry for the second half of this year. Accordingly, the visa duration has been extended from 30 to 90 days, and the temporary stay period at the border gate for people entering the country under the visa exemption category has also been increased from 15 to 45 days. The extension of the visa period hopes to attract more long-stay visitors to Vietnam.