Foreign tourist numbers fall 11 pct in September

By Hoang Phong    September 29, 2022 | 08:12 pm PT Google Get VnExpress first in Google Search info See more of the news you trust. Make VnExpress a preferred source to prioritise our updates in your Google search results
Foreign tourist numbers fall 11 pct in September
Foreign tourists on Bui Vien pedestrian street in downtown HCMC, September 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung
The number of foreign visitors in September fell by 11.2% from the previous month to 432,000 as the pace of recovery of international travel remains slow.

South Koreans topped the list of visitors at 119,636, down 31% from August, according to the General Statistics Office.

So far this year Vietnam has received 1.87 million foreign visitors, only 37 percent of its full-year target.

The target of five million arrivals is only equivalent to 30% of pre-pandemic levels, and tourism insiders remain worried strict visa policies will stymie recovery.

Vietnam is providing visa-free stay to citizens from 24 countries, while the Thai government has increased the period of visa-free stay for tourists from over 50 countries from 30 days to 45 with effect from October 1 while Indonesia resumed its visa-on-arrival program.

The Russia-Ukraine tension and China's "zero Covid" policy has had a major impact on Vietnam's tourism recovery as China and Russia used to be Vietnam's biggest markets before the pandemic, VNAT said.

The government is considering issuing e-visas to nationals of more countries.

It now issues 30-day single-entry visas online to people from 80 countries and territories, including Australia, India, the U.K., and the U.S.

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