With the synchronous efforts of the entire tourism industry, in the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam welcomed nearly 5.6 million international visitors, reaching 70% of the target of 2023.

 

 

 

 

Foreign Amitabha Buddha statue (located in the cable car complex on the top of Fansipan, Sa Pa, Lao Cai at an altitude of more than 3000 meters) has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the tallest bronze Buddha statue in Asia.

 

The report on socio-economic situation in June and the first 6 months of 2023 published by the General Statistics Office on the morning of June 29 announced positive data of the tourism industry.

 

Accordingly, in the first 6 months of 2023, international visitors to our country were estimated at nearly 5.6 million arrivals, 9.3 times higher than the same period last year, but still only 65.7% over the same period last year. 2019 - the year there was no Covid-19 epidemic.

 

However, this is still an optimistic figure because in just half a year, Vietnam's tourism has achieved 70% of the target of welcoming 8 million international visitors by 2023.

 

In June alone, international visitors to Vietnam reached 975 thousand arrivals, up 6.4% over the previous month and 4.1 times higher than the same period last year.

 

The report of the General Statistics Office also said that in the first 6 months of the year, the number of Vietnamese people leaving the country reached 2.4 million, nearly 4 times higher than the same period last year and equal to 71.5% over the same period last year. 2019.

 

 

 

 

(Source: GSO)

 

Out of a total of nearly 5.6 million international visitors to Vietnam in the first six months of this year, visitors arriving by air reached nearly 4.9 million arrivals, accounting for 87.6% of international arrivals to Vietnam and twice 9.3 times the same period last year; by road reached 633.5 thousand turns of people, accounting for 11.4% and 8.1 times higher; by sea reached 55 thousand turns of people, accounting for 1% and 443.9 times higher.

 

With a short flight route, favorable visa policy and many other attractive factors such as cost, beautiful scenery, etc., the number of Korean visitors to Vietnam  still increases steadily month by month. This explains why Korea is still the traditional market providing the largest number of visitors to Vietnam. In the first 6 months of 2023, more than 1.6 million Koreans came to Vietnam, an increase of 1485.4% over the same period last year. In June alone, Vietnam welcomed 284,350 visitors from South Korea.

 

The second largest market sending tourists to Vietnam in the past 6 months is China. From March 15, China put Vietnam on a pilot list to open tourism in groups, the number of Chinese tourists has increased rapidly over the months. In the first 6 months of the year, Vietnam welcomed 557,151 visitors from China. In June alone, there were 158,260 Chinese visitors to Vietnam, the previous month was 146,755 visitors.

 

In the first six months of the year, Vietnam also welcomed 373,785 visitors from the US, 184,799 visitors from Australia, 129,515 visitors from the UK, etc.

 

According to the General Statistics Office, in the first half of 2023, the accommodation and food service sector is one of the industries that contributes a large proportion to the increase in total added value of the whole economy. Specifically, the accommodation and food service sector increased by 15.14%, contributing 0.37 percentage points.

 

In the first 6 months of 2023, "revenue of accommodation and catering services" was estimated at 321.7 trillion VND, up 18.7% over the same period last year. In which Khanh Hoa has the highest increase (51%), followed by Da Nang (39.1%), Can Tho (37.5%), Quang Ninh (36.9%).

 

Tourism revenue in the first 6 months of 2023 is estimated at 14.5 trillion VND, up 65.9% over the same period last year. In which, Da Nang had the highest increase of 174%, followed by Hanoi (106.9%), Hai Phong (93.2%), Ho Chi Minh City (78.5%).

 

 

 

 

Ha Long Bay - a natural wonder recognized by UNESCO (Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper)

 

According to data from Google's travel trend tracking tool, from the beginning of 2023 until now, the number of searches about Vietnam's tourism has continuously increased; Vietnam is in the top of the world, from 11th position to 6th position today. Vietnam is also the only destination in Southeast Asia in this group.

 

Accordingly, Vietnam has a growth rate of 10% - 25%, ranking 6th in the world, much higher than the general growth rate of Southeast Asia. The markets that international tourists are most interested in Vietnam tourism include: USA, Japan, Australia, India, Korea, Singapore, UK, Malaysia, Germany and France. These are also key markets of Vietnam's tourism.

 

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, this shows that international tourist demand for Vietnam's tourism is recovering very quickly, at a much higher rate than competitors in the region. Therefore, Vietnam has a good opportunity to attract international visitors in the near future.

 

In particular, on June 24, the National Assembly agreed to extend the duration of electronic visas from 30 days to 90 days, valid for multiple entry. At the same time, increase the temporary stay period for those entering the visa-free category from 15 days to 45 days. This policy will officially take effect on August 15, 2023. On the other hand, the Government is also considering expanding the unilateral visa exemption to attract international visitors to Vietnam.

 

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism affirmed that breakthrough new policies will contribute to facilitating visas and entry and exit, resonate with positive market trends, and the tourism industry believes it will attract a large number of international visitors. tourism to Vietnam in the near future, especially the peak season for international tourism which will start around September 2023.