Vietnam's Tourism Industry: 127M Tourists, $33B Revenue, 8–9% of GDP
Updated May 3, 2026
Vietnam's tourism industry contributed approximately $33 billion to the economy in 2024 on 127.5 million total visitors (110M domestic, 17.5M international). Government targets put tourism at 8–9% of GDP by 2025 with 6.3M+ jobs. The 2025 GSO sub-sector breakdown: accommodation and catering services revenue hit 843.1 trillion VND (~$32B, +14.6%) while travel services revenue reached 93.9 trillion VND (~$3.8B, +20.2%). For travellers, this data explains why infrastructure investment is accelerating and where consumer demand is strongest.
Vietnam's tourism industry isn't just big — at roughly $33 billion in 2024 revenue and 127.5 million total visitors, it's one of the most economically important sectors in the country. The government's 2025 plan targets 8–9% of national GDP coming from tourism and 6.3 million+ jobs dependent on it. For travellers, these numbers explain why so much infrastructure investment is happening right now and which sub-sectors are drawing the most capital.
This article summarises what the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MoCST) and the General Statistics Office (GSO) have officially published, and what the implied trajectory means for the kind of trip you can plan in 2026 and 2027.
What the numbers show
2024 topline (the most recent full-year confirmed data at time of writing)
| Metric | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Total tourism revenue | ~$33 billion (MoCST) |
| International arrivals | 17.5 million |
| Domestic tourists | 110 million |
| Total visitors | 127.5 million |
| Year-over-year growth | +5.6% |
The 2024 figure was the pre-record year that 2025 then broke through on arrivals (see our 2025 arrivals analysis).
2025 sub-sector breakdown (GSO)
The General Statistics Office's 2025 reconciliation splits revenue by sub-sector:
| Sub-sector | 2025 revenue | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & catering services | 843.1 trillion VND (~$32B) | +14.6% |
| Travel services | 93.9 trillion VND (~$3.8B) | +20.2% |
The split is instructive. Accommodation & catering is the dominant tier — this is where hotels, resorts, and restaurants show up in the accounts. Travel services is smaller but growing faster — this covers organised tours, cruise operators, and package products.
Government 2025 targets
| Target | Figure |
|---|---|
| International visitor target | 25–28 million |
| Domestic visitor target | 130 million |
| Tourism's share of GDP | 8–9% |
| Total tourism employment | 6.3 million+ |
| 2021–2030 investment requirement | 3,600 trillion VND (~$144B) |
The 21.2 million international arrivals actually achieved in 2025 fell 15–24% short of the 25–28M target — still a record year, but below government ambition. Accordingly, the 2026 target has been held at 25 million.
What this means for your trip
1. Supply is roughly keeping pace with demand
The 14.6% accommodation/catering growth and 20.2% travel-services growth against 20.4% international-arrival growth means capacity is expanding at the same order of magnitude as demand. For travellers:
- New hotels are opening. Especially in Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, and Quy Nhon. Mid-range 4-star properties coming online in 2025–2026 are larger in count than any single previous year in Vietnamese tourism history.
- Cruise operators are adding vessels. Particularly on Ha Long and Lan Ha Bay. More boats means less booking pressure on specific peak-season weekends — but also more pier congestion.
- Tour companies are proliferating. Especially small-group specialist operators (photography tours, motorcycle tours, culinary tours). This is where the fragmentation plays out — you have more choice than ever, at the cost of more variable quality.
2. Pricing pressure is distributed, not concentrated
Because capacity is expanding, rate increases aren't uniform. In 2026:
- Luxury resorts (Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang) — 10–20% rate increases off 2024 baselines are common.
- Mid-range boutique 4-star hotels — 5–12% increases typical; some stability where new competing properties have opened nearby.
- Budget guesthouses and hostels — largely flat 2024→2026, with heavy competition from the massive new-supply segment.
- Cruise boats — up 10–20% driven by environmental-compliance costs on older vessels; new vessels are priced at premium tiers.
3. The domestic tourism machine is your friend as a traveller
110 million domestic tourists is what's actually funding most of Vietnam's tourism infrastructure. That's useful for a visitor because:
- Roads, airports, and urban transit upgrades are paced by domestic-tourist demand, not international — so peak international weekends (European winter, Chinese New Year) aren't the only ones that justify capital investment.
- Lower-middle-tier hotels are priced for Vietnamese families — meaning you benefit from much broader mid-range options than you'd get in a country relying primarily on international visitors.
- Train and sleeper-bus networks exist at the scale they do because they serve 110M+ domestic annual movements — see our transport hub for how to use them.
4. The fragmented-SME structure is why responsible travel matters
6.3 million tourism jobs, mostly in small businesses. This is why a decision about where to eat, which cooking class to take, or which homestay to book actually reaches the community-level economy. It's not symbolic — the money lands with a family or a village cooperative rather than being absorbed by a multinational chain. The Hoi An CBT sustainability research quantifies this mechanism.
5. Expect faster growth in travel services than hotels
The 20.2% travel-services growth versus 14.6% accommodation growth tells you where demand is leading. Tourism is moving more toward experiences (multi-day tours, guided cultural programs, structured itineraries) and less toward pure accommodation. For visitors, this means:
- More quality options in the small-group-tour tier (8–16 person guided tours are proliferating).
- Better packaging of transport + activities + lodging — especially in the Central Highlands, Ha Giang, and the Mekong Delta, where package products used to be limited.
- Faster price increases in the tour-service category than in hotels (20.2% vs 14.6% is real).
If you're a DIY traveller, you still have every option you had before. If you want a planned product, the 2026 market has substantially more to choose from than 2023's.
Limitations & caveats
- These are government figures — GSO and MoCST are credible, but methodology isn't independently audited. True spending may vary by ±10% from published numbers.
- "Tourist" includes all overnight domestic trips — visiting-relatives trips, wedding travel, and business travel are counted alongside leisure tourism. The 110M domestic figure overstates leisure tourism as most outsiders define it.
- The $33B total-revenue figure is for 2024; the GSO sub-sector breakdown is 2025. The two aren't strictly comparable — we present them separately but the sub-sector growth rates are on a 2025 basis.
- The 3,600T VND 2021–2030 investment plan is aspirational, not committed spend. Actual disbursement may be lower.
- Regional variation is meaningful. National figures average across fast-growing destinations (Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Ha Giang) and stable-to-declining ones (Mui Ne, Da Lat). A traveller's lived experience varies dramatically by destination.
Sources & further reading
- Primary source: Vietnam tourism in 2024 and outlooks for 2025 (B-Company, February 2025) — aggregates MoCST, VNAT, and GSO data.
- GSO sub-sector revenue breakdown: as reported via VietnamPlus — International arrivals hit new record in 2025.
- Statista — Travel & Tourism Vietnam market forecast — paid third-party projection of sub-sector splits through 2030.
- Vietnam National Authority of Tourism statistics portal — raw monthly and annual statistics tables.
Related on this site:
- Vietnam 2025 arrivals record — the arrivals-side view of the same economy
- Chinese arrivals surge 41% — the source-market detail behind 2025's record
- Booking.com 2025 Vietnamese traveller survey — domestic-traveller behavioural data that maps onto this revenue picture
Cite the original research
Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism / General Statistics Office (reported via B-Company) — “Vietnam tourism in 2024 and outlooks for 2025”, February 2025. https://b-company.jp/vietnam-tourism-in-2024-and-outlooks-for-2025/
Day Trips Vietnam summarises published research as a reader service. We do not control the original source and may not share every conclusion. About our editorial approach.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Vietnam's tourism industry?
Approximately $33 billion in total revenue for 2024, per the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. 127.5 million tourists total — 110 million domestic and 17.5 million international — and a 5.6% year-on-year growth rate. The 2025 government target is for tourism to contribute 8–9% of national GDP and support over 6.3 million jobs.
What's the sub-sector breakdown?
The GSO's 2025 sub-sector data: accommodation and catering services generated 843.1 trillion VND (about $32 billion), up 14.6%; travel services generated 93.9 trillion VND (about $3.8 billion), up 20.2%. Accommodation + catering is the dominant sub-sector; travel services are growing faster but from a smaller base.
Is domestic tourism or international tourism the bigger revenue source?
Volume-wise, domestic dominates — 110 million domestic tourists versus 17.5 million international in 2024. Spend-per-visitor is higher for international travellers, so the revenue split is closer, but government data doesn't publish a clean international-vs-domestic revenue split. Most sector analyses put international tourists at roughly 40–45% of total spend despite being only ~14% of visitor count.
What are the 2025 targets?
The government targets 25–28 million international visitors (versus 21.2 million actual) and 130 million domestic (versus 110 million in 2024). Total investment required for 2021–2030: 3,600 trillion VND (~$144 billion), split roughly 1,600T VND for 2021–25 and 2,000T VND for 2026–30. These are aspirational, not committed.
Why does sub-sector growth matter for travellers?
The 14.6% accommodation/catering growth and 20.2% travel-services growth mean new hotels, restaurants, cruise boats, and tour infrastructure are being added faster than total visitor growth (20.4%). Supply is roughly keeping pace with demand — so while popular destinations are busier, pricing pressure is distributed across expanding capacity rather than concentrating at existing venues.
Is Vietnamese tourism dominated by a few big players or many small ones?
Overwhelmingly small. The 6.3M-jobs figure represents mostly family-run guesthouses, independent tour guides, village cooking-class hosts, market vendors, and small-restaurant owners. A few large hotel chains and cruise operators dominate the luxury tier, but the mid-range and budget tiers are highly fragmented. This is why CBT-style travel choices (see [Hoi An community-based tourism](/research/hoi-an-community-based-tourism-sustainability/)) can meaningfully reach community-level actors.
How reliable are these numbers?
They're the official Vietnamese government figures. The General Statistics Office is credible and its methodology is standardised; MoCST aggregates across ministries. That said, domestic-tourism counts include every domestic overnight trip (including visiting-relatives trips and corporate travel), so the 110M number overstates 'tourism' as most outsiders would define it. Revenue figures are probably directionally accurate within ±10%.