Hoi An ancient town is getting crowded after the pandemic. Photo: Lonely Planet


Vietnam welcomed 954,000 international tourists in the first seven months of 2022, a nine-fold increase over the same period last year. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the growth rate of foreign arrivals averaged 62% per month in the January-July period.

Most of the visitors were from Asia-Pacific, including Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. South Korea was Vietnam's largest source of tourists during this period, followed by the US.

The number of European tourists is also increasing, with a relatively high growth rate, especially those from the UK, France and Germany.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that the recovery prospects of tourism businesses are more positive as the number of travel firms resuming operation is increasing, providing more jobs.

In the first half of the year, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism issued new licenses to 312 international tour operators, an increase of 286 companies compared to 2021.

By the end of June, Vietnam had 2,415 international tour operators and 1,060 domestic travel companies.

According to the World Economic Forum's 2021 tourism development index report, Vietnam's tourism industry has jumped up by eight places. With 6 out of 17 key indicators ranked among the top in the world, Vietnam's tourism industry ranks in the top three with the fastest tourism growth.

Foreign tourists are coming back to Vietnam. Photo CNN


Search volume for accommodation in Vietnam last month reached 100 points, 5.9 times higher than early March (17 points). The majority of traffic comes from the US, Australia, Singapore, India, Japan, Korea, the UK, Malaysia, Germany and Thailand.

Meanwhile, the search volume of Vietnamese tourists for foreign destinations in July increased by 780% over the same period last year. The most searched destinations include six countries in Southeast Asia, namely Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Vietnam will attend the JATA Travel Fair in Japan from September 22-25 and the World Travel Market (WTM) in the UK from November 7-9 to attract more foreign visitors.

The country will also host the International Travel Expo, one of the two largest international travel exhibitions in Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City from September 8-10.

A safe destination, cheap travel costs, friendly people, and many attractive sights are the strengths of Vietnam for international tourists, according to AsiaHighlight.

Do An