19.5 million visitors and counting: Vietnam's welcome is working

Vietnam counted 19.535 million international visitors in the first ten months of 2026 — up 13.8% on the same period last year, according to figures the National Statistics Office released on November 3. October alone brought 1.85 million arrivals. Europe supplied the biggest surge, while visitors from the Philippines jumped 52.4%, Cambodia 43.2% and India 29.5% — a broadening map of who is discovering the country. The total already reaches about 78% of Vietnam's ambitious 25-million target for the year, powered, officials and researchers say, by easier entry rules, new direct flights and a calendar of cultural events that gives travellers a reason to come now rather than someday.

SDG 8 · Decent work and economic growth — Mechanism: market force