arriving at the finish line early with a record number of visitors
The latest data from the Hanoi Department of Tourism shows that in the first 11 months of 2025, the total number of tourists to the capital is estimated at 30.94 million, an impressive increase of 22.1% over the same period in 2024.
The tourism industry has reached the finish line early, almost completing the target of 31 million visitors in 2025. Hanoi welcomed the highest number of visitors in history, surpassing the record of 29 million visitors during the peak period of 2019 - before the pandemic.
Notably, the customer structure is shifting positively in quality. The number of international visitors reached 7.09 million (up 25.2%), including up to 5 million international visitors staying overnight, showing that Hanoi is no longer a transit point but has become a long-term destination.
Domestic visitors still play a pivotal role with 23.84 million arrivals, an increase of 21.3%. In November alone - the time considered the low season for domestic tourism, Hanoi still welcomed 2.5 million visitors and earned 11.36 trillion VND.
The increase in the number of visitors has led to strong growth in revenue. Total revenue from tourists in the first 11 months is estimated at VND 120.6 trillion, up 20.7% over the same period last year.
Decoding the heat of Hanoi tourism
Data success is the result of profound innovation in awareness and strategy in the capital's tourism industry, combined with national-scale events. The city continuously develops new tourism products, increasing experience content instead of relying only on landscape and heritage, aiming to maintain the UNESCO Creative City brand.
The effect of the 80th Anniversary of National Day on September 2 (A80 event) plays a key role in helping the capital's tourism achieve remarkable growth in 2025. Data from travel companies shows that the parade has attracted a large number of tourists to Hanoi, or chosen tours with Hanoi on the schedule.
In just 4 days of National Day holidays, Hanoi welcomed nearly 2.5 million visitors, a figure that increased by 3 times compared to the same period last year. Total tourism revenue in this short vacation alone reached VND4,500 billion, affirming the clear economic leverage role of large-scale events.
In addition, the leaders of the capital's tourism industry also identified developing tourism in 4 seasons, in which autumn is used as the core brand with a series of annual events, typical products...
In November, the series of events such as the Hanoi Ao Dai Tourism Festival 2025, Thang Long - Hanoi Festival, and the 3rd Hanoi Autumn Festival created a strong media effect, attracting tens of thousands of visitors.
Night tourism products such as: "Ngoc Son - Mysterious Night" Tour, night tour at Hoa Lo Prison Relic, Van Mieu Night Tour, or wild sunflower season tour routes in Ba Vi, Hanoi suburban continue to be a "magnet" attracting visitors. Hotel room occupancy in November reached 73.4%, up 6.3%.
Not only that, Hanoi's tourism promotion work is being implemented in a variety of ways. Mr. Tran Trung Hieu - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism, said that the capital's tourism industry strengthens tourism development cooperation with localities, notably advising on organizing a Promotional Program with Vinh Long province; attending the Conference on promotion work in 2026 in Ninh Binh.
The city organizes tourism promotion conferences in potential Nordic markets such as Norway and Sweden. These activities are also supplemented by studying key markets and typical international tourists, and proposing content for the Draft Minutes of Cooperation with the Ile-de-France region (France) for the period 2026 - 2029.
Challenges in setting the stage for 2026
In addition to bright colors, the tourism industry report points out that there are still " gaps" that need to be filled for sustainable development. Hanoi currently has a huge accommodation system with 3,761 facilities (more than 71,000 rooms), but the number of facilities that have not registered for ranking still accounts for a large proportion (3,676 facilities). This poses a big challenge in service quality management, ensuring the experience of international visitors.
From the business side, Mr. Lai Van Quan - Director of Forcus Travel, said that in order to continue to score points in the eyes of domestic and foreign tourists, the Hanoi tourism industry must thoroughly solve infrastructure challenges.
Mr. Quan pointed out that the phenomenon of overloaded traffic in the center during rush hour is reducing the quality of the tourist experience. To solve the problem of overload in the central area, the fundamental solution of the tourism industry is to dispersate visitors by expanding night tourism products to neighboring areas and strengthening green tourism, suburban agricultural tourism (such as Ba Vi, Soc Son...). This not only reduces pressure on the inner city but also creates more livelihoods for people in the suburbs.
At the same time, promoting digital transformation and connecting tourism data - a tool to help manage customers intelligently, optimize services and quickly grasp market behavior.
Entering December 2025, the last month of the year, the Hanoi tourism industry is focusing on key tasks to create momentum for 2026. The biggest highlight will be the Hanoi Craft Village Food and Tourism Festival and Craft Street in 2025, promising to strongly stimulate consumption at the end of the year.
Regarding product development, the leader of the Hanoi Department of Tourism added that the focus is on building new tourism products such as agricultural, rural, night tourism, Golf tourism, and especially community tourism models associated with traditional cultural experiences of ethnic minorities.
Looking at the current strong growth momentum, we have every reason to be optimistic that Hanoi tourism will reach 33 - 34 million visitors in 2025. This is an early sign of victory, affirming the spectacular recovery after COVID-19, said Mr. Quan.
