HCMC – Vietnam’s tourism sector has made an impressive comeback and beaten 2019’s record with 11.3 million more domestic visitors than in the pre-Covid year.

The country recorded around 96.3 million domestic tourists from January to November, with November alone seeing 4.5 million, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism reported.

The industry gained strong momentum in the first half of the year, with about 26.1 million tourists in the first quarter and 34.7 million in the second quarter. The figures dwindled gradually in the second half, down to 26 million in the third quarter, while October and November saw only 9.5 million visitors.

Still, with such rapid growth, the tourism authority hopes to welcome the 100th million domestic traveler this year, way higher than its expectation of 60 million in 2022.

Meanwhile, international arrivals remain low, with only 2.95 million in 11 months.

The sector had booked some VND456.7 trillion in revenue in the year through November, equivalent to 70% of the same period in 2019, thanks to the whopping number of domestic tourists.