Vietnam’s eco-tourism picture combines a fast-recovering visitor economy with extensive protected landscapes and unusually varied habitats. The country recorded more than 17.5 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, while its national parks and nature reserves protect wetlands, forests, karst, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and thousands of documented plant and animal species. The figures below separate tourism demand from conservation assets and identify the measurement period or source year wherever the available statistics do so.
Contents
- Tourism demand and recovery
- National conservation designations
- Forests, wetlands, and wildlife
- Central Vietnam’s biodiversity anchors
- Caves, karst, and protected landscapes
- Coastal and marine eco-tourism
Tourism demand and recovery
The national visitor numbers show the scale of the market in which eco-tourism operates. Viet Nam received more than 17.5 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, an increase of 39.5% from 2023. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism reported 8.8 million international visitors in the first half of 2024. That half-year figure was 58.4% higher year on year and 4.1% above the first-half 2019 level, making it a useful indicator of recovery against both the previous year and the pre-Covid benchmark. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2024.)
The earlier baseline was already substantial. Viet Nam ended 2023 with 12.6 million international visitor arrivals, nearly 3.5 times the 2022 total and 57% above the original 2023 target. Domestic tourist trips reached 108 million in 2023, while total tourism receipts reached 678 trillion VND. These measures cover tourism nationally rather than eco-tourism alone, so they should be read as the broad demand context for nature-based travel rather than as a dedicated eco-tourism count. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2023.)
| Indicator | Reported figure | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| International visitor arrivals | More than 17.5 million | 2024 |
| International visitors | 8.8 million | First half of 2024 |
| Year-on-year change in first-half arrivals | 58.4% | First half of 2024 |
| Change versus the 2019 level | 4.1% higher | First half of 2024 |
| Domestic tourist trips | 108 million | 2023 |
| Tourism receipts | 678 trillion VND | 2023 |
Recognition also points to the breadth of destination demand, although awards are not visitor counts. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism reported that Viet Nam appeared in 19 top World Travel Awards categories worldwide and 54 top categories in Asia in 2023. In 2024, Viet Nam was named Asia’s Leading Destination for the sixth time in seven years and received three national titles, including Asia’s Leading Heritage Destination and Asia’s Leading Nature Destination. Hoi An won Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination for the fifth time in 2024, while Moc Chau won Asia’s Leading Regional Nature Destination for the third consecutive year. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2023; Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2024.)
National conservation designations
Several international designations quantify the conservation framework available to visitors and local tourism planners. The cited Cuc Phuong National Park conservation report lists nine Ramsar sites, nine UNESCO biosphere reserves, five ASEAN Heritage Parks, two World Natural Heritage sites, and one World Mixed Heritage site in Viet Nam. These are designations with different purposes and criteria, so their totals should not be added together as though they represented separate areas; one landscape may carry more than one designation.
The national park network itself is also significant. U Minh Ha National Park is one of 34 national parks in Viet Nam and spans more than 8,500 hectares. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism’s rural-tourism page records about 1,761 hectares of primary forest there, along with about 176 plant species, 23 mammal species, 91 bird species, and 47 amphibian and reptile species. Those figures describe a single protected site and illustrate why forest-based visitor experiences can be linked to measurable habitat assets.
The same source reports that Yok Don National Park covers 115,545 hectares and is Viet Nam’s second-largest national park. Nam Nung Nature Reserve covers more than 23,300 hectares, spans 10 communes in three districts of Dak Nong, and contains 75 rare species listed in Viet Nam and world Red Data Books. Its recorded biodiversity includes nearly 300 vertebrate species, 173 bird species, 66 fish species, and 37 reptile species. The geographic spread matters for eco-tourism: these are not one concentrated attraction, but a network of landscapes with different access, community, and conservation contexts. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism rural tourism page.)
Forests, wetlands, and wildlife
Wetland statistics show another side of Vietnam’s nature-tourism resource base. Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve covers 3,500 hectares and is described by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism as the largest wetland natural reserve in the Red River Delta. The site is home to 39 mammal species, 72 bird species, 32 reptile and amphibian species, 44 fish species, 39 aquatic species, and 79 insect species. It also has the largest recorded Delacour’s langur population in Viet Nam, with 100 individuals. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism SEA Games 31 page.)
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest covers more than 845 hectares. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism reports more than 140 wild animal species and over 150 plant species there. Xuan Thuy National Park covers more than 12,000 hectares, including a 7,100-hectare core area; its reported biodiversity includes 120 flora species, more than 500 fauna species, and 30 reptile and amphibian species. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism rural tourism page; Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2016.)
The forest figures become especially extensive at Cuc Phuong National Park. It covers more than 22,000 hectares and has more than 2,200 plants and mosses, 122 reptile species, 66 fish species, nearly 2,000 insect species, 135 mammal species, more than 300 resident bird species, and nearly 2,500 higher plant species. The source uses rounded terms such as “more than” and “nearly,” so these should be treated as reported thresholds rather than precise inventory totals. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2021.)
Cat Tien National Park spans 71,187.9 hectares across Dong Nai, Lam Dong, and Binh Phuoc. A Vietnam National Authority of Tourism account reports 1,300 vascular plant species, 34 plant species listed in the Viet Nam Red Book, 77 mammal species, 318 bird species, 58 reptile species, 28 amphibian species, and 130 fish species. The source years differ within this set: the park-area figure is reported for 2024, while the species profile is attributed to 2014. Bau Sau in Cat Tien was listed as the 1,499th Ramsar site worldwide and the second in Viet Nam in 2005. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2014; Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2024.)
Central Vietnam’s biodiversity anchors
For travelers focused on Central Vietnam, Bach Ma National Park and Phong Nha-Ke Bang are especially relevant. Bach Ma’s reported fauna total is 931 species, including 333 bird species, 31 reptile species, 21 frog species, 39 fish species, and 218 butterfly species. These figures come from a Vietnam National Authority of Tourism source dated 2018, so they are historical reported counts rather than a claim of a new, independently verified inventory.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang offers a different combination of biodiversity and geology. It covered 85,754 hectares when first inscribed in 2003 and expanded to 123,326 hectares after extension, a reported increase of 46%. The site protects over 300 caves and underground rivers. More than 350 caves have been surveyed, with a total explored length of 223 km. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2023; Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2024.)
The park’s botanical garden covers 40 hectares and contains 500 plant species, including 133 rare and precious plant species. A later Vietnam National Authority of Tourism report describes the transboundary Phong Nha-Ke Bang and Hin Nam No heritage landscape as spanning nearly 220,000 hectares. It also describes the karst landscape as more than 400 million years old. The landscape-size and geological-age figures refer to the 2025 report, while the cave and heritage-area figures above retain their stated source years. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2024; Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2025.)
Other Central Highlands and central-area statistics broaden the picture. Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park has 326 wild orchid species, drawn from more than 1,250 orchid species recorded in Viet Nam. It was established in 2004, reaches 2,287 meters in altitude, joined UNESCO’s Langbiang World Biosphere Reserve in 2015, and became an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2019. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2024.)
Caves, karst, and protected landscapes
The park and reserve figures reveal several different scales of eco-tourism setting. Tam Dao National Park covers 36,883 hectares and has more than 23,000 hectares of forest. A 2016 Vietnam National Authority of Tourism source records 490 flora species and 281 fauna species; a 2024 source records 1,436 plant species, including 68 endemic species, and 1,141 animal species, including 39 endemic species. Because these counts are attributed to different source years and may use different inventory scopes, they should not be combined or treated as a measured increase.
Xuan Son National Park covers 15,048 hectares, including 11,000 hectares of natural forest and 1,396 hectares of limestone-mountain forest. These land-cover figures help explain the range of terrain available for low-impact trekking and interpretation, but they do not quantify visitor numbers or tourism revenue. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism SEA Games 31 page.)
The protected-area statistics also contain smaller, highly specific indicators. Con Dao National Park covers more than 15,000 hectares of land and 14,000 hectares of sea surface. It has more than 1,000 flora species and 155 forest animal species. Its coral reefs cover around 1,000 hectares and support over 270 coral species, while seagrass beds cover about 200 hectares. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2014; Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2025.)
Coastal and marine eco-tourism
Con Dao’s turtle data gives a clear example of a seasonal wildlife resource that can be described quantitatively. More than 250 female turtles visit 14 nesting sites each year, and those nesting beaches produce more than 1,000 nests annually. In the cited Ramsar information, Con Dao is one of 2,203 important Ramsar sites worldwide; the citation lists 69 bird species, 28 animal species, 39 reptile species, and eight amphibian species. (Vietnam National Authority of Tourism 2014.)
These figures should be read as conservation context, not as a promise that every visitor will observe wildlife. They do show why coastal eco-tourism depends on timing, site protection, and habitat management. The same principle applies inland: the 100 recorded Delacour’s langurs at Van Long, the 318 bird species reported for Cat Tien, and the 218 butterfly species reported for Bach Ma are ecological indicators associated with protected places, not guaranteed tour sightings.