Over 1.5 million foreign visitors arrive in January

South Korea continued to be its largest source of visitors, with 417,000 Koreans coming in January, followed by mainland China (242,000), Taiwan (84,000) and the U.S. (75,000), according to the General Statistics Office.

Australia surpassed Japan to become the fifth largest source with 62,000 visitors.

Japan (60,000) was followed by Malaysia (48,000), India (46,000), Thailand (40,000), and Cambodia (37,000).

Vietnam received 12.6 million foreign arrivals last year, only 70% of the pre-pandemic number.

The tourism industry hopes for 18 million visitors this year, the same as in 2019, the year before Covid-19 broke out.

Then, China had been the top source of visitors.

Hotel booking data from online travel platform Agoda reveals South Koreans will also top the list of visitors during the Lunar New Year holidays in early February, followed by Chinese.

Meanwhile, Thailand has witnessed the return of Chinese tourists in the new year. The two countries have mutually waived visas with effect from March.