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Vietnam welcomed nearly 2.1 million international visitors in March, bringing first quarter foreign tourist arrivals to 6.76 million, up 12.4% year-on-year and marking a record high for the period, the national authority for tourism said. Air travel accounted for 82.3% of international arrivals, followed by land at 15.5% and sea at 2.2%, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.

Vietnam’s tourism sector has set an ambitious target to welcome 45-50 million international visitors by 2030, contributing 14% to the nation’s GDP and generating 12 million jobs. The target is highlighted in the newly adjusted Vietnam National Tourism System Plan for 2021-2030, with a vision toward 2045 released by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

Hanoi City has received over 8.8 million visitors in the first quarter of 2026, with tourism revenue estimated at nearly VND37 trillion, the city’s tourism department said. International arrivals have totaled around 2.4 million during the period. Hotel occupancy in the first quarter has exceeded 62%. In March alone, the total number of tourists to Hanoi reached over three million, up nearly 16% compared to the same period last year.

Vietnamese travelers are leading Asia in efforts to reduce carbon footprints in tourism, with 81% considering sustainability and responsibility important, according to a 2026 survey by Agoda. The survey found that 43% of Vietnamese respondents expect sustainability to become more important over the next three years. Across Asia, 77% of travelers consider sustainability in travel planning, up from 68% a year earlier.

The HCMC People’s Committee has approved a VND1.6-trillion plan to develop ecotourism, resort tourism, and entertainment services in the Can Gio protected forest. The project, which covers 34,800 hectares, of which 93.31% is forested, is intended to promote sustainable tourism and preserve the local ecosystem. Under the plan, development activities must comply with regulations in line with national and sectoral planning as well as the city’s socio-economic development goals.

International arrivals to Vietnam reached more than 2.2 million in February 2026, down from 2.45 million in January, according to the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance. Despite the decline, February marked the third consecutive month with more than two million international visitors, following 2.02 million arrivals in December 2025.

HCMC handled more than 14 million passenger trips during the nine-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from February 14 to 22, according to the city’s Department of Construction. Le Hai Phong, deputy head of the Road Transport Management Division under the Department of Construction, told a press briefing on February 26 that transport services met strong travel demand while traffic accidents declined and no serious incidents or prolonged congestion were reported.

HCMC generated an estimated VND12.15 trillion in tourism revenue during the 2026 Tet holiday, up 42.9% from the same period in 2025. This marked the highest tourism revenue ever recorded by the city during a Lunar New Year (Tet) break. During the nine-day holiday from February 14 to 22, the city welcomed about 4.32 million visitors, an increase of 35% year-on-year. International arrivals reached 170,000, up 51.7% compared with Tet 2025.