Vietnam received nearly 21.17 million international visitors in 2025, up 20.4 percent from the previous year and the highest level on record, according to data released this week by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.
The tally was up 17.8 percent from the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, showed the data.
According to the tourism authority, the nation received just over 2.02 million foreign visitors in December, 15.7-percent higher than a year earlier.
Tourists from the Chinese mainland accounted for the largest share of international visitors to Vietnam last year, making up 25.0 percent of the aggregate arrivals, at 5.28 million. The figure was up 41.3 percent from 2024.
South Korea ranked second, with about 4.33 million visitors to Vietnam in 2025, and travellers from Taiwan took the third spot, with 1.23 million arrivals.
Local media reports cited Nguyen Trung Khanh, chairman of Vietnam’s tourism authority, as saying Vietnam ranked among the world’s fastest-growing destinations in 2025.
The performance achieved last year provided a solid foundation for the nation’s target of attracting 25 million international visitors in 2026, he reportedly added.
The Vietnam+ media outlet said the surge in visitor numbers and tourism revenue last year made a significant contribution to growth in the services sector and the broader economy.
Citing a report by the National Statistics Office, the newspaper said Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 8.02 percent in 2025. The services sector, it added, grew by 8.62 percent, accounting for 51.08 percent of total value added.
