Vietnam to welcome 18 million foreign tourists in 2024

Positive results

According to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), in the first nine months of 2024, the total number of international visitors reached over 12.7 million, an increase of 43.0 percent compared to the same period last year, surpassing the 12.6 million visitors recorded for the entire year of 2023. The Republic of Korea (RoK) remained the largest source market with 3.3 million visitors, accounting for 26.5 percent. China ranked second with 2.7 million visitors, accounting for 21.3 percent.

Foreign tourists visit Hanoi

Major markets in the Northeast Asian region have been the main drivers of international visitor recovery. Notably, the Chinese market saw a significant increase of 141.4 percent compared to the same period in 2023, followed by the RoK (30.3 percent), Japan (27.6 percent), and Chinese Taipei (65.8 percent). Notably, European markets experienced dynamic growth, such as the UK (+19.9 percent), France (+28.1 percent), and Germany (+23.3 percent).

In South Asia, the Indian market has experienced a remarkable growth rate of 305 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels. Southeast Asia has also shown good growth with Cambodia at 300 percent, Indonesia at 171 percent, Laos at 155 percent, the Philippines at 134 percent, and Singapore at 112 percent. Thailand (87 percent) and Malaysia (82 percent) are recovering at lower rates.

VNAT attributed these results to the effective implementation of numerous tourism promotion programs abroad, such as in Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the RoK, especially the first-ever tourism and cinema promotion program in the US recently, and relaxed visa policies. “We expect further growth of the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the remaining months of 2024 so that the tourism sector can achieve its goal of welcoming 17-18 million international tourists this year,” VNAT stated.

US tourists discover Ha Long Bay - Photo: Pham Ha

National tourism promotion campaign

At the World Travel Awards 2024, Vietnam was honored as Asia’s leading natural destination. According to VNAT, this marks the third consecutive year that Vietnam has received this award, affirming the country’s outstanding potential and value in natural landscapes and ecosystems.

To further promote the image of Vietnam’s tourism, as well as to tap into markets with significant potential, VNAT has announced plans to continue its communications and promotion efforts to boost both domestic and international tourism on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Zalo. Notably, they will implement a new and creative communications program on YouTube titled “Vietnam: Go to Love!” while at the same time expanding cooperation with international partners, such as Google, YouTube, and Traveloka to promote the global image of Vietnam’s tourism.

VNAT Director General Nguyen Trung Khanh said that recently, the authority has focused on innovating the contents and methods of promotional activities, enhancing public-private cooperation, and mobilizing social resources, including the participation in global tourism fairs and presentations of Vietnam’s tourism in key markets. “Most recently, the Vietnam tourism and cinema promotion program held in the US for the first time created a significant impact and opened up a new direction for exploring tourism development potential through cinema,” Khanh noted.

According to the leadership of VNAT, the tourism sector will organize a series of targeted promotional activities until the end of the year. Given the limited budget for promotional activities, the sector will carry out these activities through campaigns, diversify market access methods, combine and optimize integrated marketing communications, both online and offline.

With great efforts, the tourism sector is confident of its ability to achieve the goal of welcoming 17-18 million international visitors in 2024, as expected by the leadership of VNAT./.