Who’s Coming · Ho Chi Minh City
HCMC closed 2025 with 8.6 million international arrivals (+43%) and 46 million domestic tourists — leading Vietnam’s own record of 21.2 million foreign visitors, the first time the country ever crossed 20 million.
The country crossed 20 million foreign visitors for the first time in 2025 (21.2 million, +20.4%), and its biggest city supplied the largest slice: 8.6 million international arrivals against 6 million in 2024. The first half of 2026 kept the pace — HCMC took 6.4 million international visitors, up nearly 50% year on year, as Vietnam’s H1 total hit a record 12.3 million.
The mix is shifting east and south: China (5.2M, +41%) and South Korea (4.3M) lead Vietnam’s source table, while for HCMC specifically Japan (+18.3%) and India (+38.3%) are the fastest-growing markets — the latter riding new direct flights from Vietnam Airlines, JAL and Air India.
The anchor product is still history: the Independence Palace, the War Remnants Museum and the Cu Chi tunnels (1.5 million visitors a year) draw the retrospective wave — American veterans, French families, Korean students — that the 50th reunification anniversary in April 2025 amplified.
But the growth segment is lifestyle: Japanese and Indian travelers arriving for food streets, coffee culture and rooftops; MICE filling the new hotel ballrooms; and Tet, when the city leads the country in tourism revenue — US$303 million in the 2025 festival week alone, more than double Hanoi’s.
Visit in the shoulder windows — late November and February–March — when the humidity breaks and the festivals haven’t spiked hotel rates. Book Cu Chi as an early-morning run, not a midday bus tour; and if you fly in from Japan or India, your market is the one being courted hardest right now — expect the newest flights and the softest fares.
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