UN Tourism: Vietnam tourism growth is the most impressive in the world

According to the latest report from the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), in the first half of 2025, nearly 690 million tourists traveled globally, about 33 million more than the same period in 2024. Along with Japan, Vietnam is considered the country with the highest tourism growth rate in the world.

Vietnam tourism recorded impressive growth in the context of the Asia -Pacific region not fully recovering. (Photo: THANH DAT)

Africa has the strongest growth performance, Asia- Pacific continues to recover

Assessing the global tourism situation in the first 6 months of 2025, Secretary-General of the United Nations Tourism Organization Zurab Pololikashvili commented: "Despite the difficulties the world is facing, international tourism still maintains strong growth momentum. The increase in the number of visitors and revenue in the first half of 2025 has contributed positively to the local economy , jobs and livelihoods."

However, this also reminds us of the great responsibility we have to ensure this growth is sustainable and inclusive, and to work with all local stakeholders to continue in this direction, according to UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

In the first half of 2025, international tourist arrivals worldwide increased by 5% compared to the same period in 2024, about 4% higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. The growth of tourist arrivals varies between regions and sub-regions.

Despite the challenges facing the world, international tourism has maintained strong growth momentum. The increase in arrivals and revenue in the first half of 2025 has contributed positively to the local economy, employment and livelihoods.

United Nations Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili

Specifically, African tourism witnessed a growth of 12%, of which North Africa increased by 14% and sub-Saharan Africa increased by 11%.

In Europe, nearly 340 million international tourist arrivals are expected in the first half of 2025, up around 4% from 2024 and 7% from 2019. Northern Europe, Western Europe and Southern Mediterranean Europe all recorded 3% growth in arrivals during the period, although monthly results were mixed. Central and Eastern Europe continued to recover strongly, with a 9% increase in arrivals, but still 11% lower than the same period in 2019.

During the same period, tourism in the Americas recorded a 3% increase. However, while South America continued to grow solidly with 14% and Central America saw a 2% increase in arrivals, tourism in North America was almost flat. According to UN Tourism, this was mainly due to a slight decline in tourist arrivals in the United States and Canada. The Caribbean also saw a weaker performance, partly due to a decline in demand from its main source market, the United States.

The Middle East recorded a decline in tourist arrivals of about 4%, although the region has seen a strong recovery since the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first 6 months of 2025, the number of visitors to the Middle East was 29% higher than the same period in 2019.

Notably, although the number of tourists in Asia-Pacific increased by 11%, it still only recovered to 92% compared to the pre-Covid-19 period. Compared to the same period in 2024, Northeast Asia was the region with the strongest growth with an increase of 20%.

Vietnam and Japan tourism have the highest growth rates in the world

Amid the general recovery of the tourism industry in Asia-Pacific, the United Nations Tourism Organization noted that Vietnam and Japan are the two destinations with the highest growth rates in the world in the first half of 2025. The tourism industries of these two countries both grew by 21% compared to the same period last year.

In addition, a number of other markets also achieved positive growth, including: Morocco increased by 19%; South Korea increased by 15%; Malaysia and Indonesia increased by 9%; Mexico, the Netherlands and Hong Kong (China) increased by 7%... France and Spain - the two leading destinations in the world - both recorded a 5% growth in the number of tourists.

The United Nations Tourism Organization recorded that Vietnam and Japan are the two destinations with the highest growth rates in the first half of 2025. The tourism industries of these two countries both grew by 21% compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) assessed that Vietnam tourism recorded impressive growth in the context of the Asia-Pacific region not yet fully recovered.

Cultural and historical destinations are chosen by many international visitors when visiting Ho Chi Minh City.

According to data from the General Statistics Office (Ministry of Finance), in the first 6 months of 2025, the total number of international tourists to Vietnam is estimated to reach more than 10.66 million. This number increased by 20.7% over the same period in 2024. Total revenue from tourism is estimated to reach 518 trillion VND.

In the first 8 months of 2025, international visitors to Vietnam reached 13.9 million, an increase of 21.7% over the same period last year. According to experts, thanks to the relaxation of visa policies, increased promotion in many countries around the world and the opening of a number of new routes to "hot" tourist destinations, Vietnam's tourism has recovered strongly.

The tourism industry still faces many risks.

A September 2025 survey from the Panel of Travel Experts and the Travel Confidence Index of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) showed that the increase in transportation costs, accommodation, as well as other economic factors are the top challenges affecting international tourism this year.

Travel inflation is expected to decline from 8% in 2024 to 6.8% in 2025 (projected using the travel inflation estimate method). However, this is still much higher than the pre-Covid-19 level of 3.1% and significantly higher than the overall inflation rate of 4.3%.

About 50% of experts in the UN Tourism Expert Panel predict that the outlook for the September-December period this year will be better, 33% of experts believe that it will remain similar to 2024, while 16% of experts are concerned that the situation will worsen.

According to the UN Tourism Board of Tourism Experts, tourists will continue to seek value-for-money travel experiences and products at reasonable prices. In addition, tourists will tend to choose closer destinations, prioritize shorter trips or spend less to cope with the context of rising prices.

At the same time, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions around the world can affect confidence in tourism activities. According to the survey, low confidence is the third factor in terms of the level of impact on tourism activities, while geopolitical risks are ranked fourth. In addition, trade tariffs and travel procedure requirements are also major concerns mentioned by experts.

The confidence index from the UN Tourism Expert Panel shows that the improvement for the period from September to December 2025, reaching 120 points on a 200-point scale, is slightly higher than the 114 points for the period from May to August 2025. About 50% of experts from the UN Tourism Expert Panel predict that the outlook for the period from September to December this year will be better, 33% of experts believe that it will remain similar to 2024, while 16% of experts are concerned that the situation will worsen.

In fact, according to monthly statistics from UN Tourism, in the first half of 2025, many destinations achieved impressive growth in international tourism revenue such as: Japan increased by 18%, UK increased by 13%, France increased by 9%, Spain and Türkiye increased by 8%...

Major markets with strong growth in outbound tourism spending include: China (+16%), Spain (+16%), the UK (+15%), Singapore (+10%) and South Korea (+8%). Previously, in 2024, global international tourism revenue reached a record $1,734 billion, 14% higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite facing many risks, global tourism demand is expected to remain stable until the end of this year. The United Nations Tourism Organization maintains its forecast for global tourism growth of 3-5% in 2025.

NGOC KHANH

Source: https://nhandan.vn/un-tourism-du-lich-viet-nam-tang-truong-an-tuong-nhat-the-gioi-post908197.html