Hanoi, Jan 2 (IANS): Vietnam saw approximately 3.7 million international arrivals in 2022, surging 23.3 times from the previous year, but still much lower than the pre-Covid period in 2019, the country's General Statistics Office said on Monday.

The number fell short of the target which was set at 5 million, reports Xinhua news agency.

From January to December 2022, visitors entering the country by air amounted to nearly 3.3 million, accounting for 89.5 per cent of the total.

In 2022, roughly 2.6 million foreign visitors to Vietnam were from Asia, hiking 19.5 times compared to 2021.

The number of tourists from Europe, the Americas and Oceania also saw surges of 31.8 times, 67.6 times and 125.2 times, respectively, from the previous year.

Vietnam received a record number of over 18 million international arrivals in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic broke out.

In 2020 and 2021, the number of international arrivals to Vietnam plunged 78.7 per cent and 95.9 per cent year on year respectively.

The country targeted serving over 8 million overseas tourists in 2023, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.