According to statistics from the National Authority of Tourism, the number of international visitors to Vietnam in May is estimated at nearly 1.8 million, an increase of 16.5% compared to the same period last year. The total number of international visitors in the first 5 months of the year reached 10.6 million, the highest ever compared to the same period in previous years.
Notably, although May is the peak season for international visitors according to seasonal rules, while domestic tourism is starting to enter the summer peak season, Vietnam still welcomes nearly 1.8 million international visitors. This is the highest level ever recorded in May, showing that the attractiveness of Vietnam's destination is still strongly maintained.
In the context that global tourism is still affected by economic and geopolitical instability, Vietnam continues to be highly appreciated thanks to a safe and stable environment, reasonable costs, increasingly convenient air connectivity, diverse products and open visa policies. These advantages are helping Vietnamese tourism expand market share and enhance its position in the international market.
In the first 5 months of 2026, the 10 largest sending markets to Vietnam included China, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan (China), Cambodia, the United States, India, Japan, Philippines and Australia. China and South Korea alone accounted for nearly 40% of the total number of international visitors.
Russia is a noteworthy bright spot when it rose to third place in the largest source market group. In just 5 months, the number of Russian tourists reached about 95% of the scale of the whole year 2019, showing the strong recovery of this market.
Cambodia ranked fifth, reflecting the great growth potential of the regional tourist market in the context of increasing demand for tourism, family visits and trade between the two countries.
Meanwhile, India continues to grow rapidly and is expected to reach the milestone of 1 million visitors in 2026. Conversely, Japan, although still in the key market group, has retreated to eighth place due to slower growth than the general level. In the first 5 months of the year, the number of visitors from Japan increased by 11.8%, lower than the average increase of 14.9% of the entire international market.
In terms of growth rate, Southeast Asia continues to be a positive contributor. The Philippines increased by 71.9%, rising to ninth place in the group of largest sending markets. Many other markets also recorded high growth such as Cambodia increasing by 40.2%, Indonesia increasing by 28.7%, Singapore increasing by 28.5% and Malaysia increasing by 21%. In South Asia, India continued to maintain a growth rate of 50.4%.
These results show that Southeast Asia is becoming one of the important growth drivers of Vietnamese tourism thanks to its proximity and convenient air connectivity.
Europe is the region with the strongest growth in the first 5 months of the year with an increase of 54.8%. The main driving force comes from the Russian market when the number of visitors increased by 194%, the highest among international markets. The restoration of direct flights along with the advantages of sea resorts, climate and competitive costs has helped Vietnam strongly attract this flow of visitors.
Many other European markets also maintained positive growth such as Germany, France, England, Italy, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Poland, Switzerland and Czech Republic continued to grow strongly, contributing to expanding the source of visitors from Europe. Distant markets such as Australia and the United States also maintained positive growth momentum.
After 5 months, the tourism industry has completed about 42% of the year's target. This is a favorable foundation to aim for the goal of welcoming 25 million international visitors in 2026.
