Long road for Vietnam’s international tourism recovery
Vietnam is open for business, however international tourism levels are still far below their pre-pandemic peak.
Vietnam received 602,000 foreign tourists in the first half of this year. This is 6.8 times the number of arrivals compared to the same period last year when pandemic-related entry restrictions were still in force. However, this is just 12 percent of the five million target set for this year.
Soaring prices, coupled with ongoing travel restrictions in some major markets, such as China are dampening demand. Russia was also a major source market for Vietnam and is effectively closed off following the invasion of Ukraine.
There has been demand from U.S. travelers, but currently visa-free travel is only available for 15 days and many long-haul travelers want to stay longer. Groups from Singapore and Thailand are also visiting. In the second half of the year, the government plans to step up marketing efforts to bring in tourists from the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and India.