Vietnam served nearly 7.6 million international holiday-makers in the first five months of this year, up 64.9% year-on-year and 3.9% compared to the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on May 29.

Vietnam welcomes nearly 7.6 million international tourists in five months (Photo: VNA)

Of them, 83.7% traveled by air, 14.2% by land, and 2.1% by sea.

In May alone, the country accommodated nearly 1.4 million foreign arrivals, surging by 51% over the same period last year.

Favourable visa policies and attractive tourism stimulus programmes in many localities were attributed to the rising number of foreign visitors to Vietnam, according to the GSO.

Revenue from accommodation and catering services in the reviewed period was estimated to reach 296.3 trillion VND (over 11.64 billion USD), an increase of 15.1% over the same period last year while travel tourism revenue totaled an estimated 24.2 trillion VND, marking a year-on-year rise of 45.1%.

According to a report from the World Economic Forum (WEF), Vietnam’s tourism climbed eight places in its Travel and Tourism Development Index between 2019 and 2021, making it one of the three biggest improvers in the world.

In 2024, the country ranked 59 among the 119 economies nationwide, reaching 3.96 points, down three places compared to 2021.