According to data from the World Tourism Festival Report No. 11/2025 of UN Tourism, Vietnam recorded a 21% growth in international visitors in the first 9 months of 2025, among the world's fastest growing destinations.
The number of international visitors to Vietnam exceeded 15.4 million, 19.9% higher than in 2019 - the time before the Covid-19 pandemic.
UN Tourism said Vietnam is among the countries with strong growth along with Brazil (45%), Egypt (21%), Ethiopia and Japan (18%), South Africa (17%), Sri Lanka and Mongolia (16%), Morocco (14%). All of these destinations have recovered and exceeded pre-2019.
Vietnam's impressive results are recorded in the context of the entire Asia Pacific region recovering only about 90%. According to the assessment, the stability and safety of the destination; open visa policies; unique natural and cultural resources; increasingly diverse tourism product systems; service quality and friendliness of the people; innovation promotion activities and Vietnam tourism is continuously honored by prestigious international organizations and media... are factors that help the industry maintain a strong recovery momentum. Vietnam expects to continue growth during the peak season at the end of the year.
On a global scale, in the first 9 months of 2025, the world welcomed more than 1.1 billion international visitors, an increase of more than 50 million compared to the same period in 2024 (equivalent to 5%) and 3% higher than in 2019. Despite escalating costs, inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions, demand for international tourism remains high.
UN Tourism Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said that international tourism will continue to move in a sustainable direction in 2025, not only in terms of number of visitors but also in terms of total revenue from tourism, despite the market still being affected by inflation and complex geopolitical context.
In terms of region, Europe continues to lead when welcoming 625 million visitors in the first 9 months, an increase of 4% over the same period in 2024. Africa increased by 10%, the Americas and the Middle East both increased by 2%. The Asia Pacific region increased by 8%, of which Northeast Asia increased the most (16.6%), while Southeast Asia and the Ocean increased slightly (3.1% and 4.3%), while South Asia decreased by 4.9%.
Compared to 2019, the Middle East recovered best (133%), followed by Africa (119%) and Europe (106%). The Americas is approaching a full recovery (99%). Asia Pacific alone is only at 90%.
In addition, outbound spending continues to increase in many major source markets such as the US (+7%), France (+5%), Germany and Italy (+4%), Spain (+15%) and South Korea (+7%) - which are expected to continue to be an important driving force for world tourism.
UN Tourism forecasts a 3-5% increase in international visitors globally in 2025. The growth trend of the first 9 months of the year shows that the market is on track, but the global tourism industry still faces risks from geopolitical fluctuations and rising service prices. In that context, 2025 is still predicted to be the year of continued positive growth - with Vietnam being one of the destinations with the most outstanding momentum in the region.
