Economic crisis and closed airports lead to a 22% fall in tourist arrivals (November 2008)

What happened in 2008

The AFP reported in December 2008 that the global economic crisis had hit Vietnamese tourism hard. After a strong start to the year, arrivals fell 13 per cent in October compared with the year before and 22 per cent in November, partly because airport closures in Bangkok disrupted travel across the region. Vietnam was no longer expected to reach 5 million visitors in 2008, and the industry expected zero growth the next year. Tourism was then worth about $3 billion of GDP and employed about 10 per cent of the workforce. The Vietnamese Business Forum also argued that easing visa rules could lift arrivals by as much as 10 per cent.

How things stand in 2026

The forecast was right: 2008 ended at about 4.2 million visitors and 2009 at about 3.8 million. Arrivals then recovered and passed 18 million in 2019. After the pandemic closure, 2025 set a record of about 21.2 million, and the first nine months of 2026 reached about 17.7 million, up 14.5 per cent (National Statistics Office, October 2026). Our Vietnam tourism statistics page has the year-by-year table.