Vietnam successfully attracted 17.7 million foreign tourists during the first nine months of 2026 having China, South Korea and Russia as their top 3 tourist markets, according to a news report by VnExpress. As it currently stands, Vietnam saw its foreign tourist count rise by 14.5% compared to the year before and it is looking more likely for the nation to exceed its 2025 overall foreign tourist count of 21.2 million by the end of this year.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…
Vietnam welcomed 17.7 million international visitors in the first nine months of 2026, up 14.5% year-on-year, bucking a decline in arrivals across several Southeast Asian destinations.
Mainland China remained Vietnam’s largest source market, with 3.95 million visitors, accounting for about 22.3% of the total. South Korea ranked second with approximately 3.05 million visitors, or 17.3%.
Russia ranked third with 1.1 million, followed by Taiwan (964,000) and the U.S. (746,000), according to the General Statistics Office.
The rest of the top 10 were Cambodia (688,000), Japan (674,000), India (670,000), the Philippines (522,000) and Australia (485,000).
In September, foreign visitors declined by 11.3% from August but rose by 16.5% year-on-year to 1.77 million.
Martin Koerner, commercial director of The Anam Group, a chain of luxury resort hotels in Vietnam, said what is particularly encouraging is Vietnam’s diversification of source markets.
European arrivals increased by more than 50%, while arrivals from markets including the United States, Australia and India also recorded strong growth. This makes Vietnam less dependent on only one or two major Asian source markets, he added.
“Vietnam is no longer seen simply as an inexpensive holiday destination. Increasingly, it is being
recognized as a destination capable of delivering sophisticated, world-class hospitality,” Koerner said.
Several Southeast Asian countries have faced declines in international arrivals amid the impact of the Middle East crisis.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Have you visited Singapore over the past twelve months? Do you think Singapore can keep innovating and improving itself on tourism development? Do you know anyone who visited Vietnam recently and mentioned positive things about their tour? How interested are you right now to visit Vietnam?
You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.
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