Vietnam receives 14 million international visitors in 10 months, half of Thailand's

By Hoang Phong November 5, 2024 | 06:52 pm PT

Foreign tourists line up to jump into the water at Du Gia Waterfall in Ha Giang Province in northern Vietnam, October 2024. Photo by Nguyen Thuat

Vietnam welcomed 1.42 million foreign visitors in October, marking a 27.6% increase year-on-year, bringing the total to 14.1 million for 2024 though this figure is only half of Thailand's.

South Korea remained the leading source of tourists in the first 10 months, with 3.73 million visitors, followed by mainland China (3.01 million), Taiwan (1.06 million), the U.S. (636,000), and Japan (584,908), according to data released by the General Statistics Office on Wednesday.

The top 10 sources of tourists also include Australia (395,695), India (394,509), Malaysia (392,449), Cambodia (365,757), and Thailand (339,763).

Vietnam now needs 3.9 million foreign arrivals for the rest of the year to meet its target of 18 million, the same against pre-Covid levels.

The country has entered its peak tourism season, which runs from October to April. Several cruise ships carrying thousands of international tourists have begun to arrive.

Thailand has welcomed more than 29.08 million foreign tourists this year, bringing in revenues of 1.358 trillion baht (US$40.14 billion).