The number of international tourists arriving in Vietnam reached 596,900 in November, the highest monthly total since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and 23% more than October, according to figures from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
The November tally also took total visitor arrivals for the first 11 months of the year to 2.95 million – up from just 157,000 through all of 2021 although still 81.9% lower than the same period in 2019, VietnamNet reports. Vietnam welcomed a total of more than 18 million in all of 2019.
While total visitor arrivals remain well behind pre-pandemic levels, tourism revenue of VND456.7 trillion (US$18.7 billion) is already 70% of 2019 levels, suggesting a higher quality of visitor.
South Korea leads the way as Vietnam’s main tourist source with 763,900 arrivals representing 26% of the total, followed by the US at 266,000 (9%). India, meanwhile, is one of the fastest growing source markets with 27,000 arrivals in November – 31% more than arrived in October.