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Vietnam is on course for another record year. The National Statistics Office, under the Ministry of Finance, publishes arrivals around the third of each month for the month before. This table shows the running total for 2026, compared with the same months of 2025.
| Period | International arrivals | Change on 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| January to February 2026 | about 4.7 million | +18.1% |
| January to June 2026 | about 12.3 million | up nearly 15% |
| January to July 2026 | about 13.9 million | +13.8% |
| January to August 2026 | 15.9 million (15,912,200) | +14.4% |
| January to September 2026 | 17.7 million | +14.5% |
| Full year 2025 | about 21.2 million | +20.4% |
September 2026 itself brought about 1.77 million visitors. The target for 2026 is 25 million, and the 17.7 million so far is about 71% of it. For 2030 the national target is 45 to 50 million.
International visitors by year
Arrivals are about five times their 2008 level. The pandemic years are the exception: Vietnam closed its borders to tourists in 2020 and reopened them in March 2022.
| Year | International arrivals | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 4.2 million | Financial crisis year; sources give 4.22 to 4.25 million |
| 2009 | 3.8 million | Global recession |
| 2010 | 5.05 million | |
| 2011 | 6.0 million | |
| 2012 | 6.8 million | |
| 2013 | 7.6 million | |
| 2014 | 7.9 million | |
| 2015 | 7.9 million | |
| 2016 | 10.0 million | First year above 10 million |
| 2017 | 12.9 million | |
| 2018 | 15.5 million | |
| 2019 | 18.0 million | Pre-pandemic peak |
| 2020 | 3.8 million | Borders closed from March |
| 2021 | 157,300 | Borders closed to tourists |
| 2022 | 3.66 million | Tourist borders reopened 15 March |
| 2023 | 12.6 million | |
| 2024 | 17.6 million | Up 39.5% |
| 2025 | 21.2 million | Up 20.4%; record |
Figures for 2008 to 2019 are from the national tourism authority’s annual releases, and 2020 to 2025 from the national statistics office. Different agencies round and revise slightly, so a figure quoted elsewhere may differ by a few tens of thousands.
How visitors arrive
Nearly all international visitors fly in, and the road share is rising.
| Mode | 2025 | Share | January to August 2026 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air | 17.8 million (+20.2%) | 84.3% | 13.2 million (+11.6%) | 83.1% |
| Road | 3.1 million (+22.6%) | 14.4% | 2.5 million (+32%) | 15.5% |
| Sea | about 274,000 (+10.4%) | 1.3% | about 221,000 (+17.5%) | 1.4% |
Air arrivals through January to September 2026 were about 14.7 million (83.2%).
Where visitors come from
Asia supplies about three in four visitors, and China and South Korea are the two largest markets. In 2025 the top ten markets were:
| Rank | Country | 2025 arrivals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mainland China | 5.28 million |
| 2 | South Korea | 4.33 million |
| 3 | Taiwan | 1.23 million |
| 4 | United States | 848,700 |
| 5 | Japan | 814,200 |
| 6 | India | 746,500 |
| 7 | Russia | 689,700 |
| 8 | Cambodia | 687,100 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 573,700 |
| 10 | Australia | 548,500 |
The mix shifted in 2026. For January to August 2026 the National Statistics Office reports:
| Region | Arrivals | Share | Change on 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia | 11.8 million | 74.2% | +7.4% |
| Europe | 2.7 million | 16.8% | +53.4% |
| Americas | 887,400 | 5.6% | +20.7% |
| Oceania | 488,700 | 3.1% | +23.3% |
| Africa | 44,800 | 0.3% | +25.1% |
Within that, China sent about 3.5 million (up 0.3%) and South Korea 2.8 million (down 5.2%) in the eight months, while Russia sent about 1.0 million (up 165.7%), India about 612,000 (up 38.2%), the United States 689,500 (up 20.4%) and Australia 441,400 (up 23.3%). By the end of September, reports gave China 3.95 million, South Korea 3.05 million, Russia 1.1 million, Taiwan 964,000, the United States 746,000, Japan 674,000, India 670,000 and Australia 485,000. Growth in 2026 has come mostly from Europe and long-haul markets, while the two biggest Asian markets are roughly flat.
Domestic tourism and revenue
Vietnamese travellers outnumber foreign visitors by a wide margin. About 137 million domestic trips were made in 2025, and total tourism revenue, domestic and international, was estimated at about 1 quadrillion dong (roughly $38 billion), according to VnExpress in August 2026. The same report put average spending at $1,200 to $1,400 per international visitor per trip, and 2.4 to 2.6 million dong per domestic trip.
Then and now: 2008
This page began in 2008, when Vietnam received about 4.2 million visitors. The first ten months of 2008 gave these figures from the General Statistics Office, shown here for comparison with today’s. In that period 2,791,556 visitors arrived by air, 678,804 by road and 127,481 by sea. Tourism accounted for 2,194,931 of the arrivals, business 723,264, visiting relatives 443,443 and other purposes 236,203.
| Market (January to October 2008) | Visitors |
|---|---|
| China | 538,645 |
| South Korea | 392,150 |
| United States | 357,299 |
| Japan | 333,226 |
| Taiwan | 266,555 |
| Australia | 199,035 |
| Thailand | 154,029 |
| France | 148,778 |
| Malaysia | 141,804 |
| Singapore | 126,989 |
| Cambodia | 110,387 |
| United Kingdom | 88,492 |
| Germany | 81,008 |
| Canada | 72,774 |
In 2008 the United States was the third-largest market. In 2025 it was fourth, with about 849,000 visitors, while China’s 2025 total was about ten times its figure for the first ten months of 2008.
What drives the numbers
Several factors work together: more direct flights and new carriers, particularly from China, South Korea, India and Europe; easier visas, including a 90-day e-visa since August 2023 and visa-free stays for travellers from a list of countries; and promotion of destinations beyond Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. The jet-fuel shortage in spring 2026 cut some domestic flights, as described in the domestic flights guide.
How to cite these figures
You’re welcome to quote and link to this page. A suggested citation:
Vietnam tourism statistics, vietnamtravel.org, updated 3 October 2026. Data: National Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance, Vietnam) and the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.
The tables here are updated each month or two as new releases appear, and the full-year figures are confirmed in January. The latest update date is at the top of the page.
Sources and notes
- National Statistics Office (Cục Thống kê), Ministry of Finance: monthly social-economic reports, including the 8-month 2026 release of 3 September 2026 and the 9-month release of 2 October 2026.
- Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (Cục Du lịch Quốc gia Việt Nam), under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism: annual and monthly summaries, including the 2025 review published 5 January 2026.
- Annual totals for 2008 to 2019 follow the tourism authority’s published series; 2021 and 2022 follow the statistics office and Vietnamese press reports of 2022.
- Spending and domestic travel figures are reported by VnExpress (August 2026), citing government estimates.
- “Arrivals” are international visitor arrivals counted at the border, including tourists, business travellers, those visiting relatives and others. They are not unique people: a visitor entering twice is counted twice.
- The statistics office was called the General Statistics Office until 2025; some sources still use the old name.
For more on the practical side of a trip, see the Vietnam travel information hub and the guide to getting around Vietnam.