Vietnam Welcomes 21m Tourists in 2025, Highest-Ever Figure in History

The service sector, with tourism identified as a key driving force within, contributed to more than half of last year’s GDP growth of 8.02%, the highest in 15 years, if exempting the post-COVID burst of 8.12% in 2022. 

China contributed the most to the figure, accounting for 5.28 million visitors. South Korea came second with more than 4.33 million visitors, followed by Taiwan with around 1.23 million arrivals. Around 83% of visitors arrived by air.

The tourism surge can be at least partly attributed to new policies adopted and implemented in 2025, specifically with regards to visa facilitation. Unilateral visa exemptions were extended to citizens of 24 different countries, e-visa eligibility was extended to all countries, and the period of stay for visitors was lengthened, from 30 to 90 days for e-visa holders and 15 to 45 days for visa-free travelers.

A series of measures designed to encourage and support tourism businesses also played a part, such as cuts to appraisal fees for travel business licenses, the lowering of electricity prices for tourism accommodation facilities to equal those of the manufacturing sector, and streamlining administrative procedures.

In hopes of sustaining the momentum of 2025's success, Vietnam’s tourism authorities have set an ambitious target of attracting 25 million international visitors in 2026. 

According to Nguyễn Trùng Khánh, Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, the tourism sector will focus on developing and improving key tourism product lines such as cultural tourism, ecotourism, marine and island tourism, and urban sightseeing. He further noted that, to attract higher-spending travelers, the country is studying and developing new premium tourism products, including those tailored for Muslim travelers.

Next year is expected to be the first year in operation of Long Thành International Airport, slated to be open in June. The brand-new aerodrome is hoped to alleviate the bottlenecks that have existed for years at Saigon’s Tân Sơn Nhất Airport, which received a record number of 83.5 million passengers in 2025. Transportation infrastructure between the new airport and Saigon, however, remains a major concern, as three planned major roads linking them are yet to be completed.