Sharp rebound in tourism sector fuels Vietnam’s post-pandemic economic recovery

VIETNAM’S tourism sector is poised for strong growth over the next 5 years, with international tourism receipts expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels in 2024.

According to Fitch Solutions’ latest tourism report on Vietnam, the sector is projected to see tourism takings of US$11.1 billion in 2024 – which would exceed the US$10.8 billion collected in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 outbreak. This is expected to rise to around US$13.2 billion by 2026, with more than 22 million tourist arrivals to the country.

It’s a rosy outlook for a country that’s heavily dependent on international travellers and their spending. Like many other countries in the region and beyond, Vietnam’s borders were largely shut for the better part of 2020 and 2021. The borders reopened to foreign travellers in March, and figures from the country’s General Statistics Office show an average growth of 62 per cent in overseas arrivals month-on-month.