With less than a month and a half left to 2024, Vietnam is working to meet its target of welcoming between 17 to 18 million tourists before the end of the year.

As of 31st October, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNTA) reported that international tourist arrivals hit 1.42 million, up almost 28 percent year-on-year. 

The total number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first 10 months of 2024 exceeded 14 million, up by over 41 percent from where it was at the end of October 2023. 

Given this most recent report, VNTA deputy director Nguyen Le Phuc is optimistic that the country will meet its arrivals target by the end of the year.

Nguyen said: “We expect international arrivals to Vietnam to continue growing dramatically in the remaining months of 2024.”

Hanoi Tourism Department director Dang Huong Giang added: “The autumn and winter seasons are the capital’s golden season for tourism. So Hanoi will accelerate product development and promotion activities to achieve its goal of welcoming five million international visitors for this year.”

Flying farther, cruising in

Aside from the work of national and local tourism boards, airlines are also making efforts to open more international routes into Vietnam. 

Vietravel Airlines, for example, recently increased flight frequencies, and also expanded routes to Taiwan, adding Phu Quoc-Taipei, Hue-Taichung, and Danang-Taichung to its route network.

Vietnam Airlines also recently opened a direct route between Hanoi and Chengdu, linking the capital with Sichuan Province; while Vietjet introduced two routes connecting Phu Quoc with Taichung and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

Quang Ninh province, however, has gone on a different track as it is promoting cruise tourism.

The province now welcomes luxury tourists with high spending capacity. 

From now until year-end, cruise ships are expected to bring 2,000-3,500 international visitors for sightseeing and leisure in Halong, Quang Ninh province, with stays ranging from half a day to one day.