Arrivals reach record levels, especially from Russia and China, and tens of billions of dollars are pouring in to build new infrastructure. Vietnam aims to overtake Thailand and Malaysia as Southeast Asia's top destination. While Thailand is struggling to keep up, Vietnam’s rapid growth comes with risks of overtourism.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) – Vietnam is set for a record number of visitors, confirming its position as Southeast Asia's fastest-growing tourist destination despite disruptions to international flights caused by the war in the Middle East.

Vietnamese authorities want to turn the country into a “new Thailand”, not just a destination for backpackers, but a place for visitors who can spend more and stay longer. This includes medical tourism, which could grow from US$ 700 million in 2024 to nearly US$ 4 billion by 2033.

Tourism growth data

At present, Vietnam’s tourism sector already represents nearly 10 per cent of gross domestic product. Some 10.6 million foreign visitors arrived in the first five months of this year, this in a country of 102 million, up 14.9 per cent year-on-year, with a 17 per cent jump in May alone (1.78 million arrivals), data from Vietnam’s National Statistics Office show.

The government is targeting around 25 million international arrivals by the end of the year (although forecasts are just over 23 million), 150 million domestic trips, and a total tourism turnover of nearly US$ 43 billion.

This represents a significant increase compared to the 21.2 million international arrivals in 2025, which itself had seen a 20 per cent increase over 2024, surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels FROM 2020 for the first time. It is estimated that the annual number of foreign visitors could rise to 29 million by 2030.

This year, the top ten markets for foreign visitors to Vietnam are China, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Cambodia, the United States, India, Japan, the Philippines, and Australia. China and South Korea remain by far the two largest markets, but Russia is catching up the fastest.

In the first five months of 2026, 617,851 Russian tourists arrived, just shy of the total number for all of 2025. This is a result of the war in Ukraine, which has prompted several European countries to restrict entry for Russian citizens, pushing them to holiday in Vietnam. As a result, Hồ Chí Minh City has been lightheartedly dubbed “Saigongrad” by tourists and travel influencers.

Meanwhile, in 2025, Vietnam topped Thailand as the main foreign destination for Chinese tourists for the first time, attracting 5.3 million visitors compared to 4.5 million.

This growth has also been fuelled by the easing of travel restrictions. People from a dozen countries, including Belgium, Hungary, and Switzerland, can stay in Vietnam for up to 45 days without a visa. At the same time, the private airline Vietjet has opened new routes from China, Japan, and Singapore.

A flood of investments...

The Vietnamese government, which in recent years has centralised power and launched a specific reform plan for economic growth, has proposed a national tourism infrastructure development plan for the period 2021-2030, with a view to 2045.

It estimates that investments will rise to US$ 144 billion, of which only 3-5 per cent is expected to come from public funds – the rest, between 95 and 97 per cent, will have to come from private capital, domestic and foreign, largely through public-private partnerships.

Hanoi has included among its development priorities the expansion of major international airports, new connections between tourist destinations, 4- and 5-star hotels and resorts, and the modernisation of cruise ports.

Because of its poor transportation system and connectivity, Vietnam currently ranks 59th out of 119 in the Travel and Tourism Development Index, behind Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

So far, more than US$ 830 million have been invested in the new airport on Phú Quốc Island, built by local conglomerate Sun Group together with Changi Airport Group (the same group behind Singapore's airport) ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held on the island in November 2027.

At the same time, the Vingroup has signed an agreement with British-based IHG Hotels & Resorts to bring four hotel brands to Cần Giờ, a coastal district part of Hồ Chí Minh City, while the Sun Group is partnering with Hilton to build five hotels with more than 2,000 rooms in Phú Quốc, Đà Nẵng, and Quảng Ninh.

…to overtake its neighbours and avoid repeating their mistakes

The government's ambition is to outdo Malaysia and Thailand (which has seen a drop in bookings following its border war with Cambodia and scam centre scandals) as Southeast Asia's leading tourist destination.

Hanoi's plan sets a target of 45-50 million international visitors by 2030, equivalent to an average annual growth of 16-19 per cent.

Some observers note that Vietnam is also trying not to repeat its neighbours' mistakes. According to Vũ Minh Khương, a professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the government is aware of the problems with overtourism in places like Bali, Indonesia, and Thailand and is trying to learn from them.

On the other hand, Vietnam still risks finding itself with underutilised hotels and airports, the same problem Thailand is currently facing. In fact, the speed of this growth is already putting a strain on existing infrastructure.

According to AirHelp, a platform that collects various data on international travel, three of the ten worst airports in the world in 2026 are located in Vietnam, due to bureaucratic delays and long waits.

Furthermore, starting 1 July, a mandatory health declaration will be required up to seven days before arrival, with the authorities potentially demanding proof of vaccination or additional checks, which in some cases could take up to two hours.

Hanoi is justifying such measures by citing the need to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as Ebola and Nipah fever, but this risks further lengthening queues at airports.

• vietnam
• tourism
• development
• overtourism
• investments
• infrastructures
• transportation
• airports
• cruise ports