Proud of the 65-year journey of the Vietnamese tourism industry: Integration, Development, and Shine

The year 2025 is a significant milestone for Vietnam’s tourism industry – marking 65 years of establishment, development, and growth. Looking back at the journey, from the first steps during the national resistance war, to international integration during the country’s renewal and opening up, to becoming a major economic sector of the country, Vietnam’s tourism has written a proud development story, affirming its position, resilience, and pillar role in socio-economic development.

09/07/1960 – The milestone of the birth of the tourism industry in VietnamOn July 9, 1960, according to Decree No. 26/CP of Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, the Vietnam Tourism Company was established, officially marking the birth of the tourism sector in the country. In the context of war, when the entire country was focusing on building socialism in the North and fighting for the liberation of the South, the establishment of a new economic sector such as tourism was a bold and strategically long-term move by the Party and the State.

Photo of Vietnam tourism organized a ceremony to welcome the 10 millionth international visitor (December 2016)

The period from 2020 to 2025 witnessed strong efforts from the tourism industry to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented severe challenge in history. The Vietnamese tourism sector was heavily impacted: international flights were halted, tourism activities were ‘frozen’, at times 90-95% of tourism businesses had to stop operations, workers in the industry lost their jobs, and many had to switch to other fields to make a living. In this context, the restoration of the tourism industry became an urgent and vital task.

Thanks to effective and correct policies, tourism in Vietnam has made an impressive recovery. In 2022, the number of international visitors reached 3.7 million, in 2023 it reached 12.6 million, and in 2024 it reached 17.6 million, equivalent to 98% compared to 2019 – the highest recovery rate in the ASEAN region. Domestic tourists in 2024 reached 110 million, with total tourism revenue reaching 840 trillion VND, an increase of 24% compared to the previous year. In the first half of 2025, maintaining strong growth momentum, Vietnam welcomed nearly 10.7 million international visitors, an increase of 20.7% compared to the same period in 2024; serving 77.5 million domestic tourists; total tourism revenue reached 515 trillion VND. Tourism is regarded by the Government as a bright spot in the overall socio-economic development.

The efforts of Vietnam Tourism have been recognized by the international community, award organizations, and international media. Notably, the World Travel Awards has honored Vietnam 5 times as the ‘World’s Leading Heritage Destination’ and 6 times as the ‘Asia’s Leading Destination’. The Vietnam National Tourism Administration has been recognized 4 times as the ‘Asia’s Leading Tourism Board’ (2017, 2021, 2022, 2023).

Photo of The Vietnam National Tourism Administration has been honored as the top tourism management agency in Asia for the fourth time.