November foreign visitor numbers highest since Covid

By Hoang Phong November 29, 2023 | 03:47 am PT

Foreign tourists board a luxury train from Hanoi to Da Nang in October 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Phu

Vietnam received 1.23 million foreign visitors in November, the highest monthly number since it reopened its borders after Covid in March last year.

The number of arrivals so far this year has topped 11.2 million, far higher than the full-year target of eight million, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The country has now set its sights on a figure of 13 million for the year.

In November Europe accounted for the fastest growth month-on-month at 58.5%.

All the European countries for whose nationals Vietnam waives visas saw a big jump, with France (73%) and Sweden (85%) leading the way.

South Korea has remained the largest source of tourists (3.2 million) this year, followed by mainland China (1.5 million), Taiwan (758,000), the U.S. (658,000), and Japan (527,000).

Thailand (442,000), Malaysia (419,000), Cambodia (359,000), Australia (353,000), and India (352,000) rounded off the top 10.

The tourism race has heated up in Southeast Asia in recent weeks with several countries relaxing visa policies.

The Malaysian government has announced that tourists from China and India will be allowed 30-day visa-free entry from Dec. 1.

Thailand had announced a similar waiver a month earlier.

Vietnamese tourism businesses and officials have also called for waiving visas for tourists from China and India.

Thailand and Malaysia have received 23.2 million and 14 million foreign visitors this year.