The Southeast Asian country welcomed 17.4 million international visitors last year, up 38.64 percent from 2023. This impressive growth placed Vietnam well ahead of several Southeast Asian peers, including Thailand (up 26.27 percent, 12th place), Laos (up 25.29 percent, 13th place), Malaysia (up 24.20 percent, 15th place), Cambodia (up 22.87 percent, 16th place), and Singapore (up 21.22 percent, 20th place).

Vietnam named among top post-pandemic travel destinations, while the South Korea led the global ranking with a 48.82 percent surge in arrivals, followed by Japan (up 47.09 percent) and Chile (up 40.42 percent).

UNWTO statistics also revealed that France remained the world's most visited country in 2024 with 102 million visitors, trailed by Spain (93.7 million), the U.S. (72.3 million), China (65.7 million), Turkey (60.5 million), Italy (57.7 million), Mexico (45 million), Germany (37.5 million), the UK (37.2 million), and Japan (36.7 million).

Within Southeast Asia, Thailand received 35.5 million visitors to secure 12th position worldwide, while Malaysia ranked 17th with 25 million arrivals and Vietnam ranked 24th with 17.4 million arrivals.

Tuvalu reported the world's lowest visitor numbers, with just 200 arrivals in 2022 - roughly equivalent to a single commercial flight. The UNWTO noted that Tuvalu's 2023-2024 data has yet to be released.