Shifting Neighboring Countries, Vietnam Becomes The Champion Of Southeast Asian Tourism Growth

One of the tourist destinations in Vietnam (Photo: Freepik/4045)

JAKARTA - Vietnam managed to make achievements as one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. The latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) noted that the number of foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam in 2024 increased 38.64% compared to 2023. This achievement places Vietnam in fourth place in the world.

"Vietnam shows a strong performance that reflects growing international interest in its cultural wealth, natural beauty, and culinary beauty," the UNWTO report said, quoted from the VN Express page.

The list is led by South Korea with an increase of 48.82%, followed by Japan (47.09%) and Chile (40.42%). With a fourth position, Vietnam managed to surpass many of its neighboring countries in Southeast Asia.

Thailand is only ranked 12th with 26.27% growth, followed by Laos (25.29%, ranking 13), Malaysia (24.20%, ranking 15), Cambodia (22.87%, ranking 16), and Singapore (21.22%, ranking 20).

One of the surprises on the list is that El Salvador, which is in 9th position. The Central American country is enjoying a surge in tourists thanks to the increased public security under the leadership of President Nayib Bukele. In 2024, El Salvador is estimated to welcome 3.2 million international tourists, including more than 1.2 million from the United States, or an increase of 80% compared to 2019.

UNWTO also highlighted several countries that are recovering, but there are still many destinations that have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. For example, the Philippines is still down 34.2%, followed by Peru (25.5%), Hungary (22.3%), South Africa (12.8%), Australia (12.6%), Italy (10.5%) and Canada (10%).

In terms of total number of tourists, France remains immovable in the top position with 102 million tourists by 2024. Followed by Spain (93.7 million) and the United States (72.3 million). Other countries that are in the top 10 include China, Turkey, Italy, Mexico, Germany, the UK, and Japan.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand ranks 12th with 35.5 million tourists, 17th Malaysia (25 million) and 24th Vietnam with 17.4 million tourists.

Meanwhile, Bribes are listed as the least tourist country. Since 2022, this small country in the Pacific has only received about 200 tourists, the equivalent of one commercial flight. Data for 2023 and 2024 is not yet available.