Vietnam recorded 17.5839 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, 39.5% more than in 2023. Air travel dominated the total, while South Korea and China remained the two largest source markets. The figures below show how demand developed during 2024 and how it compares with selected 2023, 2019, and destination-level measures.
Contents
- 2024 international arrivals at a glance
- How arrivals changed through 2024
- Where international visitors came from
- Domestic travel and tourism targets
- Tourism businesses, guides, and accommodation
- Holiday and destination demand
2024 international arrivals at a glance
The full-year total of 17.5839 million international visitor arrivals provides the clearest headline measure for Vietnam tourism in 2024. According to Viet Nam records more than 17.5 million international visitor arrivals in 2024, the result was 39.5% above the 2023 level. The increase describes year-on-year change in international arrivals; it is not a measure of visitor spending or domestic travel.
Transport mode shows how visitors entered the country. More than 14.8 million arrivals came by air, representing 84.4% of the international total. Road arrivals reached 2.5 million, or 14.2%, while sea arrivals were 248.1 thousand, or 1.4%. These percentages identify a strongly air-led international market, with land-border travel still materially larger than cruise or other sea arrivals.
| Measure | 2024 result |
|---|---|
| International visitor arrivals | 17.5839 million |
| Year-on-year change | 39.5% |
| Air arrivals | More than 14.8 million |
| Air share | 84.4% |
| Road arrivals | 2.5 million |
| Road share | 14.2% |
| Sea arrivals | 248.1 thousand |
| Sea share | 1.4% |
The source reports the 2024 total and transport breakdown together in Viet Nam records more than 17.5 million international visitor arrivals in 2024. Because the air figure is reported as “more than 14.8 million,” it should not be treated as an exact value for calculating a new total.
How arrivals changed through 2024
The year’s recovery was visible well before the full-year result. Vietnam received more than 3 million international visitor arrivals in January and February 2024, including 1.53 million in February alone. The first two months were 68.7% above the same period of 2023. South Korea supplied 844 thousand arrivals in those two months, followed by China with 538 thousand. Taiwan contributed 198 thousand, the United States 156 thousand, Japan 107 thousand, Australia 97 thousand, Malaysia 92 thousand, India 79.3 thousand, Cambodia 79.1 thousand, and Thailand 76 thousand. South Korea represented 27.7% of January–February arrivals.
By the end of March, Vietnam had welcomed more than 4.6 million international visitors. March itself contributed nearly 1.6 million, and the first quarter was 72% above the same period of 2023. It was also 3.2% above the same period of 2019, according to Quarter I/2024: Number of international visitor arrivals to Vietnam surpass pre-pandemic level. The comparison is explicit: the 2019 reference is a pre-pandemic baseline, while the 2023 comparison measures the more recent year-on-year rebound.
The first five months brought nearly 7.6 million arrivals, including nearly 1.4 million in May. The period was 64.9% above the first five months of 2023 and 3.9% above the corresponding 2019 period. South Korea accounted for 25.7% of arrivals and China for 21.2%, as reported in International visitors to Vietnam in the first 5 months of the year increases by 64.9%.
The first half of 2024 reached more than 8.8 million international arrivals. This was 58.4% above the first half of 2023 and 4.1% above the first half of 2019, according to Looking back Vietnam tourism in the first 6 months of 2024. Vietnam then recorded nearly 10 million arrivals in the first seven months, with 1.15 million in July. The seven-month result was 51% above the same period of 2023, as reported in Nearly 10 million international visitor arrivals to Vietnam in seven months 2024.
Momentum continued later in the year. August recorded 1.43 million international arrivals. The first nine months reached around 12.7 million, including 1.27 million in September. The nine-month total was 43% above 2023 and at 99% of the pre-pandemic level, according to Nearly 13 million int-visitor arrivals to Vietnam in 9 months 2024. The first ten months exceeded 14.1 million, up 41.3% year on year, while the first eleven months reached 15.8 million, up 41%.
November alone contributed 1.7 million arrivals, the highest monthly number reported since early 2024 in This November records highest number of international visitors to Viet Nam since early of 2024. The cumulative first-eleven-month total included 4.1 million arrivals from South Korea and 3.3 million from China.
Where international visitors came from
Asia supplied 79.6% of Vietnam’s international arrivals in 2024. Europe accounted for 11.3%, the Americas for 5.7%, Oceania for 3.1%, and Africa for 0.3%. These regional shares show that Vietnam’s international visitor base was concentrated in Asia, although European, American, and Oceanian markets formed meaningful additional segments.
South Korea was the largest individual source market, with 4.5 million arrivals and a 26% share of the 2024 total. China ranked second with 3.7 million arrivals and a 21.3% share. Together, the two markets represented nearly half of all international arrivals, although no additional combined percentage is calculated here.
| Source market | 2024 arrivals or share |
|---|---|
| South Korea | 4.5 million; 26% |
| China | 3.7 million; 21.3% |
| United States | 780 thousand |
| Japan | 711 thousand |
| India | 501 thousand |
| Malaysia | 495 thousand |
| Australia | 491 thousand |
| Cambodia | 475 thousand |
| Thailand | 418 thousand |
The same pattern was visible across the year. South Korea led the first nine months with 3.37 million arrivals and a 26.5% share; China supplied 2.7 million and a 21.3% share. By the first ten months, South Korea had reached 3.7 million arrivals and a 26.4% share. In the first eleven months, South Korea reached 4.1 million and 26.1%.
The nine-month source-market comparison also shows different recovery positions against 2019. India reached 305% of its 2019 arrivals level, Australia reached 122%, and the United States reached 102%. The United Kingdom was at 95% and France at 92%. These are market-specific comparisons in Nearly 13 million int-visitor arrivals to Vietnam in 9 months 2024, not forecasts for the full year.
Domestic travel and tourism targets
International arrivals are only one part of Vietnam tourism. Vietnam recorded 108 million domestic visitor trips in 2023, while total tourism receipts were estimated at 678 trillion VND. Those figures come from Vietnam aims to attract 17 - 18 million international visitor arrivals in 2024. The wording “estimated” applies to the 2023 tourism-receipts figure, so it should not be read as a final audited amount.
The same source describes Vietnam’s 2024 tourism plan. It targeted 17 to 18 million international arrivals, 110 million domestic visitor trips, and about 840 trillion VND in total tourism receipts. These are plan targets rather than recorded outcomes. Keeping the target and result separate matters: the full-year 2024 international total was 17.5839 million, while the plan was expressed as a range of 17 to 18 million.
Short holiday periods also generated substantial domestic and mixed visitor demand. During a five-day holiday window in April 2024, Vietnam’s tourism industry served 8 million visitor arrivals, of which about 3.6 million were overnight visitors. Average room capacity nationwide was about 60%, peak occupancy exceeded 70%, and some coastal destinations reached 95% to 100% occupancy. These measures describe the holiday window, not the annual occupancy rate.
Tourism businesses, guides, and accommodation
Vietnam’s tourism supply base at the end of 2023 included 3,921 international travel businesses. Their number rose by 1,027 compared with 2022. The country issued 10,004 new tour guide cards in 2023 and had 37,331 tour guides nationwide by year-end.
Accommodation capacity was reported at about 38,000 tourist accommodation establishments and 780,000 rooms in 2023. Within the rated stock, Vietnam had 247 five-star establishments with 80,896 rooms and 368 four-star establishments with 50,716 rooms. These counts indicate the scale of formal accommodation supply, but they do not by themselves measure occupancy, room nights, or the distribution of rooms between regions.
The business, guide, and accommodation figures are from Vietnam aims to attract 17 - 18 million international visitor arrivals in 2024 and refer to 2023 unless a comparison with 2022 is stated. They therefore provide context for the 2024 arrival rebound without being presented as 2024 capacity measurements.
Holiday and destination demand
Destination-level figures illustrate how national tourism demand appeared in particular places and periods. During Tet 2024, Da Nang welcomed nearly 177 thousand visitors, Hanoi nearly 103 thousand, Ninh Binh nearly 100 thousand, and Quang Nam 97 thousand. Quang Ninh welcomed 89,767 visitors, Ho Chi Minh City 75 thousand, Kien Giang 44,370, and Lam Dong 20 thousand. These are Tet-period visitor counts from Vietnam tourism energising during Lunar New Year 2024, not annual totals.
The April five-day holiday produced larger reported totals in several provinces. Thanh Hoa served about 1.52 million visitor arrivals and recorded about 3.805 trillion VND in tourism receipts. Quang Ninh served about 1.0178 million visitor arrivals and recorded 2.21 trillion VND in receipts. The source Vietnam serves 8 millions visitor arrivals during holidays reports these as holiday-window results, so they should not be compared directly with full-year provincial totals.
Hanoi’s January–November 2024 figures offer a separate city-level view. Hanoi welcomed 25.3 million visitors, including 5.7 million international visitors. Tourism revenue for the period was nearly 100 trillion VND, up 18% year on year, according to Ha Noi welcomes 25 million tourists in 11 months. The city figures cover eleven months and include domestic and international visitors; they are not a subset that should be added to Vietnam’s national international-arrival total.
For readers planning travel in Central Vietnam, the available figures particularly highlight Da Nang and Quang Nam during Tet, while the national series shows a year of strong international recovery led by air arrivals and Asian source markets. The measurement periods remain important: a holiday count, an eleven-month city total, and a full-year national total describe different dimensions of demand.