This was a new record for the Vietnam tourism industry, surpassing the figure of nearly 2 million international visitor arrivals in January 2020. Compared to the same period in 2019, the figure was 37.8% higher.

Figure 1. International visitors by month (thousand of arrivals)

Source: Compiled from the General Statistics Office

Notably, China has regained the number 1 market sending visitors to Viet Nam with 575 thousand arrivals, accounting for 27.7% of the total international visitors, which was a lot higher than the same period in January 2019 (373.5 thousand arrivals).

South Korea ranked second with 417 thousand arrivals (accounting for 20.1%), followed by Cambodia, the US,  Taiwan (China), Japan, Australia, India, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The impressive recovery of the Chinese market was resulted by a series of activities by relevant authorities, localities, and tourism businesses of Viet Nam and China to enhance cultural and tourism cooperation and exchange of visitors.

Figure 2. Top 10 source markets of Viet Nam in January 2025 (thousand of arrivals)

Source: Compiled from the General Statistics Office

The main growth drivers in January 2025 came from the large markets such as China, up 137.4% over the same period in 2024; Cambodia (+168.6%), the US (+22.3%); Japan (+19.3%), Taiwan (China) (+8.5%); Australia (+7.1%), India (+5.2%). Positive growth were also recorded by nearby markets in Southeast Asia such as the Philippines (+104.9%), Laos (+99.4%), Indonesia (+7.5%).

The industry continued to witness impressive growth from European markets thanks to open policy of unilateral visa exemptions, including Russia (+116.8%), the UK (+13.8%), France (+16.1%), Germany (+22.9%), in addition to Italy (+21.8%), Spain (+7.2%), Denmark (+17.8%), Norway (+35.6%), Sweden (+31.8%).

Tourism Information Technology Center