Inbound travel to Vietnam is experiencing a strong growth and recovery, while the government also works on regulations to better accommodate the tourism rebound
Vietnam’s tourism industry is experiencing a strong rebound and growth of foreign visitors this year. In the first five months of 2023, Vietnam received 4.6 million international visitors, achieving 57.5% of the country’s tourism target of 8 million visitors for the year. This also represents a 12-fold increase from the same period in 2022. The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism(VNAT) reported that between mid-March and early June, the search volume for Vietnam’s tourism via Google’s market trend tracking tool grew by 10% to 25%, ranking 7th worldwide. Vietnam’s tourism industry is also projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025. It aims to attract 35 million international visitors by 2030, especially high-spending and long-stay visitors along with the development of a quality and sustainable industry.
However, some challenges remain including the need for favorable visa policies compared to competitors like Thailand and Indonesia. Officials and experts have been particularly advocating for this, and Vietnam’s National Assembly has recently approved a government proposal to extend the validity of tourist e-visas from 30 days to 90.