In 2022, Vietnam’s tourism struggled to recover from the COVID-19 slowdown, even though the country has already lifted pandemic-related travel restrictions.
Vietnam expects to more than double the number of tourists this year to about 8 million. The forecast came as official figures showed more than 3.6 million arrivals in 2022 with a return of inbound travel after the pandemic.
The UK was Vietnam’s main European market, with a total of 93,794 British visitors.
New hotels set to open in 2023 include Nobu Hotel Danang, Avani Cam Ranh and Mandarin Oriental Saigon.
Kien Tran Trong, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, said: “Last year’s strong visitor numbers speak for themselves and are a testament to the quality of product Vietnam has to offer tourists.
“After a few quieter years due to the pandemic, it has been a pleasure to welcome such a large number of tourists back to the country so that we can continue to show our visitors what Vietnam has to offer.
Foreign tourists visited Hoi An Ancient Town by Cyclos
“In 2023, we look forward to continuing to welcome international travelers to our destination as we continue to focus on improving our tourism offerings throughout the year.”
Vietnam temporarily closed its borders to tourists from abroad at the end of March 2020 and has been just as aggressive as China in curbing the spread of COVID. But it started admitting foreign visitors in mid-March, relaxing entry requirements almost to where they were before the COVID outbreak in May, ahead of its neighbours.
Tourist arrivals to Vietnam in 2019, before COVID became widespread, rose 16% from the previous year to a record high of 18 million.
China and South Korea were the two largest sources of visitors, accounting for nearly 60% of the total. About 5.8 million visitors, just over 30%, came from China, while 4.2 million, over 20%, came from South Korea. Japan is third with 950,000. About 640,000 visitors from Russia, which has long-standing ties with Vietnam.
