In 2019, the year before the onset of the Covid, Vietnam received 18 million foreign visitors, the highest number on record at the time.
Last year it received 17.6 million visitors.
Mainland China remained the top source market between January and November, with 4.8 million arrivals, followed by South Korea (3.9 million).
Tourism experts attributed Vietnam's strong performance to favorable visa policies, expanded promotional campaigns, and a series of large-scales events held to celebrate major national holidays.
In early August 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 expanded the unilateral visa waiver list to 24 countries and the total number including bilateral waivers to 39.
The Vietnamese government recently added 41 more international border gates where foreigners can use e-visas for entry and exit, bringing the total number of e-visa-eligible gates to 83.
Between October and April is the peak travel season of Western tourists seeking a winter escape.
Vietnam targets 23-25 million foreign tourists by the end of this year.
