In March alone, the country received nearly 2.1 million foreign arrivals, up 1.3% year on year. Overall, international arrivals in the first three months rose by more than 12% compared to the same period last year.

Authorities attributed the strong growth to Vietnam’s stable political and social environment, improved safety, and more open visa policies. Enhanced tourism promotion, diversified products and better service quality have also helped attract more international visitors.

Air travel remained the primary gateway, accounting for 5.56 million arrivals in the first quarter, or over 82% of the total, up 7% year on year.

Notably, land arrivals saw a sharp increase of 53% to 1.05 million, making up 15.5% of total visitors. Sea arrivals also rose by more than 11% to over 148,200.

Asia continued to be Vietnam’s biggest source market, contributing more than 4.9 million visitors, slightly above last year’s level.

China emerged as the largest market with over 1.4 million arrivals, followed by the Republic of Korea with more than 1.32 million visitors.

Several regional markets posted strong growth, including India and the Philippines (both exceeding 169% year on year), and Indonesia (nearly 144%).

Europe obtained the fastest growth rate, with over 1.23 million visitors in the first quarter, up nearly 156% year on year.

The surge was largely driven by a sharp rebound in Russian visitors, which reached nearly 367,170, up 294.5% compared to the same period last year.

Other markets, including the Americas and Oceania, also maintained steady growth, with 403,175 and 189,670 visitors respectively.

In contrast, outbound travel by Vietnamese residents declined sharply to around 1.2 million trips in the first quarter, down 55% year on year.

Domestically, while the price index for culture, entertainment and tourism services edged down slightly in March due to lower hotel demand, package tour prices continued to rise.

Tour prices increased by 0.81%, including a 1.36% rise for outbound tours and a 0.72% increase for domestic tours, mainly driven by higher transportation, accommodation and service costs.

International arrivals to Vietnam up 18% in first two months of 2026

VOV.VN - International tourism to Vietnam continued to expand in the early months of 2026, with nearly 4.7 million foreign visitors recorded in the first two months of the year, highlighting sustained growth momentum in the country’s tourism industry.