Foreign tourists to Vietnam rise 22% to nearly 14 million in first 8 months

By Hoang Vu September 5, 2025 | 09:28 pm PT

Foreign tourists wait for Vietnam's military parade rehearsal to celerbate the National Day in Hanoi, August 2025. Photo by Minh Ngoc

The number of foreign visitors to Vietnam in the first eight months of this year reached 13.9 million, up 22% year-on-year.

Mainland China remained the top source market during the January-August period, with 3.53 million arrivals, a 44% year-on-year increase, followed by South Korea (2.9 million), Taiwan (839,000), the U.S. (572,000), and Japan (539,000), according to the General Statistics Office.

The rest of the top 10 were Cambodia (444,000), India (443,000), Russia (376,000), Australia (357,000), and Malaysia (344,000).

In August alone, foreign visitors to Vietnam reached 1.68 million, up nearly 16% from the same period last year.

Tourism experts have attributed Vietnam's strong performance to favorable visa policies, expanded promotional campaigns, and a series of events held to celebrate major national holidays.

Last month, the government waived visa requirements for citizens of 12 more countries -- Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland -- for stays of up to 45 days.

This expands Vietnam's unilateral visa waiver list to 24 countries, and the number of countries enjoying its exemption policy to 39.

Last month, millions of people flocked to Hanoi to witness military parade rehearsals ahead of the National Day holiday from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. In the weeks leading up to the holiday, Hanoi hosted a number of cultural and tourism activities, drawing large crowds of foreign tourists.

Thailand, Vietnam's top regional tourism rival, welcomed 21.88 million foreign visitors in the first eight months of 2025, down 7%, Nation Thailand reported.