Viet Nam welcomes unprecedented record number of foreign visitors in January
VGP - Vietnam welcomed nearly 2.5 million foreign visitors in January 2026, the highest monthly figure ever — as visa reform and stronger tourism promotion strategy continued to fuel the sector’s post-pandemic recovery, according to the National Statistics Office.
January's international arrivals rose 21.4 percent from December 2025 and 18.5 percent against the same period last year.
Air travel remained the dominant mode of entry, with more than 1.9 million arrivals, up 8.8 percent. Cruise ship visitors reached 58,500, an increase of 30 percent, while land border entries surged 92.9 percent to 440,700.
Asia continued to be Viet Nam's largest source market, accounting for over 1.8 million visitors, up 12.3 percent. Europe posted the fastest growth among major regions, with arrivals jumping 59 percent to 424,000. Visitor numbers from the Americas, Oceania and Africa also rose sharply, up 14.2 percent, 13 percent and 45.4 percent, respectively.
The statistics agency attributed the strong growth to visa policy reforms, enhanced tourism promotion efforts and a broader range of tourism products.
In 2026, Viet Nam targets 25 million international arrivals, 150 million domestic tourists and total tourism revenue of about VND 1.125 quadrillion (US$46.5 billion), reflecting its ambition to develop tourism into a spearhead economic sector in line with the Government's goals.
The tourism sector will focus on key product lines such as cultural tourism, nature-based tourism, marine and island tourism, and urban sightseeing.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism directed efforts to further develop tourism products linked to cultural industries, while coordinating with the Ministry of Health to build medical and healthcare tourism products.
Earlier, in the sector grew 21 percent in 2025, underscoring its strong resilience and recovery momentum while reinforcing Viet Nam's competitiveness on the global tourism map./.
