More than 5.28 million mainland Chinese visitors will come to Vietnam in 2025, accounting for 25% of the total international tourist market share and becoming the largest tourist market.
According to data released on the afternoon of January 5 by the Department of Statistics, in December 2025, Vietnam welcomed more than two million international visitors, bringing the total number of visitors last year to 21.2 million – the highest in history.
Among them, mainland China is the largest sending market, with more than 5.28 million arrivals in 2025, an increase of 41% compared to last year and accounting for 25% of the total market share of visitors to Vietnam. Ranked second is Korea with 4.33 million visits, accounting for more than 20% of the market share. Taiwan, the third largest sending market, also accounts for 6% of the market share (1.23 million arrivals). The next top 10 destinations include the US, Japan, India, Cambodia, Russia, Malaysia and Australia.
Dr. Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group, said the reason why mainland Chinese visitors come in large numbers is completely “understandable”. This traditional passenger file is located near the border for convenient travel, short flight hours, and low cost.
Chinese tourists are “vulnerable” visitors after the pandemic, discriminated against in many places because Wuhan is where the corona virus was found. The travel behavior of Chinese tourists has also changed by choosing in-depth experiences instead of focusing on mass cheap tours. They tend to go to safe, friendly places. In addition, the world economy continues to fluctuate over the years, Chinese people control spending more tightly and tourism is the first to be cut. Therefore, they want to find markets that are close, easy to go and affordable.
“Vietnam meets all those desires,” Mr. Ha explained why the Chinese tourist market always ranks top 1 in Vietnam.
The unstable political situation in Thailand and Cambodia in the past year also caused Chinese tourists to choose Vietnam as an alternative destination.
Mr. Ha said that by 2025, the number of mainland Chinese visitors to Vietnam will be “better quality”. In addition to charter groups, many travel companies welcome more Chinese tourists on commercial flights, from big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
“Guests arriving by commercial flights and first-class cities are often richer and of better quality,” Mr. Ha said.
Chinese tourists visit the City Post Office, Ho Chi Minh City. Image: Dang Khoa
Director of Marketing & Communications of Vietluxtour travel company Tran Thi Bao Thu said that in 2025, the Northeast Asian market will continue to play the role of a key source of visitors (with a total number of visitors reaching nearly 11 million, accounting for 50% of the total market share), thanks to geographical advantages, dense air connections and the ability to quickly recover after the epidemic. Meanwhile, the US, Japan, and Australia maintain stability in the distant market group but have high spending levels and the need for in-depth experiences.
India and Russia have become new destinations in the market for sending tourists to Vietnam. This demonstrates Vietnam’s market expansion margin, no longer dependent on a few traditional customer sources. This positive signal reflects the efforts to diversify markets and the adaptability of travel businesses and destinations in Vietnam.
Regarding growth motivation, Russian tourists are considered a “bright highlight” of the Vietnamese tourism industry. With a nearly doubled increase, Russia became the market with the strongest growth, followed by the Philippines, China, India, and Cambodia. The Taiwan and South Korean markets alone will have a negative growth rate in 2025, when the number of visitors will be 95-95% of 2024.
According to CEO Pham Ha, in 2026, the Vietnamese tourism industry needs to focus on long-distance markets in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and the Middle East, visitors from every country want to welcome because they spend a lot, stay long and have a tendency to travel sustainably, along with retaining old tourists.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Vietnam is currently in the group of destinations with the fastest growth rate in the world, along with Brazil, Egypt, Japan and Ethiopia. The number of visitors in these markets has all exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
In 2025, Vietnam will welcome 21.2 million international visitors, an increase of 20% over the same period, total tourism revenue is estimated to reach 1 million billion VND (about 38 billion USD).
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism sets a target that by 2026, Vietnam will welcome 25 million international visitors and achieve revenue of over 1.1 million billion VND.