The number of South Korean visitors to Vietnam has reached an all-time high this year, accounting for 30% of total foreign arrivals in the first five months. Popular tourist destinations such as Nha Trang, Danang, Hoi An, and Phu Quoc are particularly attractive to South Koreans. Following Vietnam’s reopening of its borders in March 2022, airlines have been scrambling to launch new direct air routes connecting cities like Busan and Daegu with Danang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi.
In 2021, South Korea became Vietnam’s largest source of foreign tourists, with 770,000 arrivals. The presence of famous South Korean celebrities such as actors Eugene, Lee Jun Ki, and Hyo Yeon, who have visited Vietnam in recent years, has further contributed to promoting Vietnamese tourism in South Korea. Lee Jae Hoon, Chief Representative of the Korean Tourism Organization in Vietnam, emphasized the importance of the Vietnamese market for South Korea’s tourism and mentioned plans to actively promote tourism activities in Vietnam.
As of early June, South Korea had welcomed 163,000 tourists from Vietnam, accounting for 73% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Vietnamese tourists also spent the most among international visitors to South Korea in 2022, with an average of nearly 200,000 KRW (USD 150) per capita in card transactions, according to BC Card, a credit card and financial service company.
Nguyen Hoang Oanh, director of HCM City-based TopTravel Company, mentioned that besides traditional tours to Seoul, the company has launched visa-free tour packages to new destinations like Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do via charter flights from Danang and Nha Trang. South Korea aims to attract around 400,000 Vietnamese tourists in 2023 through various tourism promotion activities in Vietnam.