Culture News

Vietnam records nearly 2.5 million foreign visitors in January, its best month since 2009

Vietnam welcomed nearly 2.5 million international visitors in January 2026, the highest monthly figure since it began recording arrivals by month in 2009, the National Statistics Office said, as reported by VOV and Tuoi Tre News. VOV puts the rise at 21.4% on December and 18.5% on January 2025.

VOV broke the total down by transport: more than 1.9 million arrived by air (up 8.8%), 440,700 by land (up 92.9%) and 58,500 by cruise ship (up 30%). By region, Asia sent more than 1.8 million visitors, while Europe grew fastest, up 59% to 424,000. The statistics office credited visa reform, stronger promotion and more varied tourism products.

Tuoi Tre focused on countries. South Korea overtook China as the largest source market with nearly 490,000 visitors, against close to 460,000 from China, and Cambodia rose to third. Taiwan, Japan, the United States, Australia, Russia, India and Malaysia were also major markets.

“a strong recovery in inbound tourism” — Nguyen Tien Dat, Hanoi Tourism Association, via Tuoi Tre News

How each outlet framed it

• VOV — how visitors arrived and which regions grew, plus the year's targets.
• Tuoi Tre News — the country ranking, with South Korea now ahead of China.

What we don't know yet: Whether the pace holds. Vietnam is aiming for 25 million international visitors in 2026, after more than 21 million in 2025. Both outlets rely on the same official data; independent figures were not available.