Foreign arrivals surge 71 pct as int'l flights resume

By Hoang Phong March 1, 2022 | 09:00 am PT

Passengers get off a Vietnam Airlines plane arriving from Cambodia at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC on January 1, 2022, the first regular commercial flight to Vietnam in two years. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines

The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam in the first two months this year increased by 71.7 percent year-on-year to 49,200 as the country resumed regular international flights.

Of the arrivals, 32,723 came from Asia and 10,130 from Europe, according to the General Statistics Office.

Most visitors chose to fly to Vietnam, accounting for over nearly 90 percent of arrivals during the January-February period.

On Jan. 1, the Vietnamese government allowed the resumption of regular flights after nearly two years of suspension due to the pandemic.

The country also ended all restrictions on international flights on Feb. 15.

So far, Vietnam has resumed commercial flights to 20 of 28 countries and territories that it operated direct flights to before the pandemic, including the U.S.

Tourism revenues in the first two months are estimated at VND2 trillion ($87.5 million), down 10.9 percent year-on-year.

From March 15, Vietnam will fully reopen inbound tourism and lift most of travel restrictions with foreign tourists permitted to visit the country without booking tour packages.