Record 10.6 million foreign visitors to Vietnam strain short-term rental market

Vietnam's record arrivals tighten short-term rental supply

Vietnam logged 10.6 million international arrivals in the first five months of 2026, a record for any January-to-May stretch and roughly 14.9% higher than the same period a year earlier, the General Statistics Office reported. May alone brought in about 1.8 million foreign visitors, the highest May figure on record despite falling in the low season.

Air travel carried 8.7 million of those arrivals or about 82.3%, with road crossings at 1.7 million and sea arrivals topping 202,000. China and South Korea together supplied nearly 40% of the total, followed by Russia, Taiwan, Cambodia, the United States, India, Japan, the Philippines and Australia.

The five-month tally already covers about 42% of Vietnam's full-year target of 25 million international visitors, after 2025 closed at 21.17 million arrivals, up 20.4% from 2024.

Pressure points for nomads and expats

The surge is concentrated in the same hubs where remote workers cluster: Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Short-term tourist demand is competing directly with monthly renters, pushing nightly rates up and thinning availability for 30-day stays during peak windows.

Longer-stay expats face a secondary squeeze when landlords in central and beachfront neighborhoods shift units toward higher-yield nightly bookings, nudging affordable monthly inventory further from the tourist core.

Visa access keeps feeding the inflow. The 90-day e-visa has been live since Aug. 15, 2023 and a 45-day visa waiver covers 13 European and Asian nationalities under the original 2023 list. A second temporary 45-day waiver for citizens of Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland has been running since Aug. 15, 2025 and continues through Aug. 14, 2028.

Costs and booking moves

• E-visa fees: $25 single-entry, $50 multiple-entry, valid up to 90 days, payable on the official portal.
• Eligibility: All nationalities can apply for the e-visa as of 2026, with entry permitted at roughly 83 air, land and sea checkpoints.
• Visa-free stays: Capped at 45 days, not extendable in-country; Phu Quoc allows 30 days visa-free on direct arrival.

Remote workers planning monthly stays in coastal hubs should lock rentals well before arrival and budget for higher rates than 2024 baselines.

Read our full Vietnam guide for the complete picture or browse more nomad news.