vietnam tourism 2019

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2019 a y ear of new highs for Vietnam tourism    

Vietnam’s tourism industry received a slew of prestigious awards and set new records in 2019., foreign tourist numbers a record high.

The number of foreign tourists reached an all-time high of 18 million in 2019, up 16.2 percent year-on-year. 14.3 million or 79 percent of the total were Asian visitors, up 19 percent.

China remained the largest source of tourists, accounting for 5.8 million (32 percent), followed by South Korea (4.3 million or 24 percent), Japan (952,000), and Taiwan (926,000).

The growth has been credited to the government’s visa waivers for nationals of potentially large tourism markets, the launch of a slew of new direct flights and increased nighttime activities like shopping and amusement.

World’s leading heritage destination 

Vietnam surpassed competitors like Brazil, China, Egypt, and Greece to be named the world’s leading heritage destination for the first time at the World Travel Awards (WTA) in Oman in November.

The recognition vindicates the country's efforts to preserve its cultural heritage, the WTA stated.

The country is home to eight world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO: the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, My Son Sanctuary, Hoi An ancient town, the Complex of Hue Monuments, Ha Long Bay, Trang An Landscape Complex, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, and the Ho Dynasty Citadel.

The heritage sites have repeatedly won global acclaim in recent years.

Launched in 1993 and heralded as the "travel industry's equivalent of the Oscars" by The Wall Street Journal , the WTA awards are based on votes by the public and travel professionals across the globe.

World’s best golf destination 

For the first time, Vietnam received the World's Best Golf Destination award at the international World Golf Awards, a part of the World Travel Awards, held in the United Arab Emirates in October. 

The country beat seven other nominees, Argentina, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Oman, Portugal, and South Africa to win the prize. The World Golf Awards, the most prestigious in the golf tourism industry, have been given annually since 2014, based on votes by professionals and consumers.

According to the Vietnam Professional Golf Association, over 70,000 people played golf as a leisure sport in 2018, up from 10,000 in 2009. The country has more than 30 golf courses.

Asia’s leading culinary destination 

Vietnam was crowned "Asia’s Leading Culinary Destination" at the World Travel Awards (WTA) for Asia and Oceania in October. It was the first time the country achieved this honor though Vietnamese cuisine has won considerable praise from international tourists and rave reviews from renowned travel magazines.

Graham Cooke, the founder of WTA, said Vietnamese cuisine has crossed the country’s borders and become one of the "must-try" experiences.

Google honors 400-year-old town Hoi An

Google Doodle in July 16 featured the ancient town of Hoi An on its homepage, making it the first Vietnamese destination to be honored thus. It was to mark the traditional Lantern Festival, held on the 14th day of each lunar month.

An image of Hoi An in central Vietnam with symbols of the Chua Cau (Pagoda Bridge) and colorful lanterns became Google’s logo for the day.

The Google Doodle commemorates holidays, events, achievements, and people.

Hoi An was recognized as a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in 1998 and has become one of the top holiday destinations in Vietnam, attracting over five million visitors this year, including more than four million foreigners.

The Pagoda Bridge, a national relic that appears on VND20,000 bills, has been an iconic landmark of the 400-year-old town. It was built in the early 17th century by Japanese traders who once made up a large part of the town’s population.

Colorful floating lanterns are also a distinct feature of Hoi An where lights are switched off during the lantern festival and the only light comes from the lanterns floated on the river.

Story by Nguyen Quy

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Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Tourism industry in Vietnam - statistics & facts

Vietnam as an emerging tourist destination, how does the vietnamese government promote tourism, key insights.

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Accommodations

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Consumer perspectives

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Reimagining tourism: How Vietnam can accelerate travel recovery

This article is part of the ongoing Future of Vietnam series, which explores key topics that will shape the country’s future growth. Separate articles discuss Vietnam's post-COVID-19 economic recovery , its longer-term growth aspirations  and ways for ecosystem players to win in Vietnam .

Download the Vietnamese translation  (PDF – 2.4MB).

For most players in the travel industry , the idea of vacationers lounging on a beach thousands of miles from home or sailing the high seas seems like a distant memory. Globally, countries experienced a decline of 35 to 48 percent in tourism expenditures last year compared with 2019 . Vietnam, with its ten-month international border closure, has not been exempted.

Tourism contributes a significant share to Vietnam’s GDP, and the economy has relied on domestic travel to buoy the sector. Local tourism resumed shortly after the country ended its relatively brief lockdown—just in time for 2020’s summer holiday season. Our analysis shows that demand for domestic travel in Vietnam will continue to grow and will recover relatively fast because of growing domestic spending: vacationers who cannot yet travel abroad are redirecting their money locally, at a higher level than in 2019.

As Vietnam’s travel sector continues to evolve and as prospects of international travel become increasingly feasible with vaccination rollouts, travel and tourism players have to adapt to survive. This article gives an overview of the state of Vietnam’s tourism sector, looks ahead at how the industry is likely to recover, and maps out a way forward for the country’s travel and tourism companies.

The state of travel in Vietnam today: Staying afloat

Vietnam’s tourism sector relies heavily on international travel, which plunged last year. International flights dropped 80 percent in October 2020 from the same time period a year earlier (Exhibit 1). Hotels, in turn, filled only 30 percent of their rooms.

The sharp drop in foreign travelers has had an outsize impact on tourism expenditures—and Vietnam’s overall economy—because they spend significantly more than their local counterparts. In 2019, a year in which the tourism industry accounted for 12 percent of the country’s GDP, 1 “Total revenue from tourists in the period of 2008–2019,” Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, May 29, 2020, vietnamtourism.gov.vn. international travelers made up only 17 percent of overall tourists in Vietnam, yet accounted for more than half of all tourism spending—averaging $673 per traveler compared with $61 spent on average by domestic travelers (Exhibit 2). The tourism sector created 660,000 jobs between 2014 and 2019, 2 Global Economic Impact & Trends 2020 , World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), June 2020, wttc.org. and this sharp expenditure dive has also stunted the country’s food and beverage and retail industries.

As a return to pre-COVID-19 levels of international tourism may be far off, the travel sector’s short-term revival could depend on local tourism. In 2019, Vietnamese tourists spent $15.5 billion, of which $5.9 billion flowed overseas. The majority of tourists are unable to leave the country, so they are looking domestically to scratch their travel itch. Travel companies should therefore rise to the occasion and capture value from this opportunity.

Looking ahead: Vietnam’s tourism industry can recover by 2024 if it implements a zero-case-first approach

Even with favorable tailwinds driven by domestic tourism, Vietnam will be dependent on international markets, which represent around $12 billion in spending. The majority of Vietnam’s international tourists come from Asian countries, with those from China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan accounting for around 80 percent of Vietnam’s foreign tourism spending. Vietnam’s strong economic ties with these countries could lead to a relatively fast tourism-industry recovery compared with other key tourist destinations in Europe and North America (Exhibit 3).

To make the most of these ties, Vietnam has been pursuing a zero-case-first strategy  since the start of the pandemic. This strategy is associated with markets in which COVID-19 transmission rates are low and—as a result—traveler confidence, at least on a domestic level, is relatively high.

By implementing the zero-case-first approach and taking into account Vietnam’s currently resilient local economy and proactive government campaigns, Vietnam’s tourism sector could recover to precrisis levels in 2024 (Exhibit 4).

Under this scenario, three paradigms are changing the way travel companies plan for Vietnam’s recovery:

• Shifts in tourism behavior could result in high-end domestic trips. With borders remaining closed for outbound travel, an increase in domestic luxury trips could occur as travelers reallocate their budgets. Of course, as noted above, the spending power of domestic tourists is weaker than that of foreign tourists, so this type of travel cannot completely fill the gap created by the lack of international travelers.
• Price cuts could be used to stimulate demand but aren’t sustainable for the long term. Many travel companies offered discounts in the immediate aftermath of the crisis in order to compete for business and stimulate demand. This may result in price dilution, especially for hotels across the country, and thus may not be a sustainable strategy for the long term.
• International travel bubbles have to be explored with caution. Currently, Vietnam has strict travel restrictions in place and allows only a select number of weekly international flights for travel by experts and diplomats, who are subject to mandatory quarantine on arrival. Vietnam needs to protect the status quo of having near-zero rates of COVID-19 cases and cannot risk opening its borders freely until herd immunity is reached, most likely through mass vaccinations. Thus, it could take some time before inbound foreign tourism returns at scale. In the meantime, there might be some opportunity to pursue more gradual and less risky measures. For instance, there have been discussions about establishing travel bubbles to allow travel between other countries with zero or near-zero transmissions, such as Australia, China, and Singapore. Travel companies should be prepared for two scenarios: one in which travel bubbles open up for inflows of international tourists, and the other in which domestic tourism remains the main driver of value.

Six actions to jump-start Vietnam’s tourism recovery

As travel companies reimagine their pathways to recovery, it is important to address the risks and anxieties related to COVID-19, while also solving for the pain points and trends that existed before the crisis. Below are six steps that Vietnam, and other countries operating in a zero-case-first market approach, can take as they embark on this road to recovery.

Focus on domestic travelers

Local demand can be revitalized by focusing on emerging destinations with the joint cooperation of local governments, online travel agencies, attractions, hotels, and airlines. Outdoor tourism that involves sunshine, beaches, mountains, and nature were among the top choices for Vietnamese travelers after the lockdown was lifted in mid-May last year, and airports at the two big travel hubs of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi were busy. To further tap into the domestic opportunity, operators will have to focus on affordability while striving to maintain high-quality products and experience.

Consider new pricing models to rebuild demand

Rebuilding demand and propelling volume, through discounts and presales, are key tactics during the early stages of recovery, especially for high-end operators that will not be able to tap into international demand for some time. However, the crisis has also forced operators to set aside their existing commercial playbooks. Historical booking patterns and trends normally used as key reference points for price optimization and yield management may no longer be as relevant. In this context of depleted demand, the paradox is that while price cuts are necessary, they could also be dangerous. In this light, companies can also explore opportunities to bundle products—which can offer upselling and cross-selling opportunities—as well as diversify their revenue stream and enhance premium product and pricing.

Five-star hotels in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, for example, can provide full “staycation” packages for families, complete with home pickup by luxury car, a suite, and discounts on food and drinks. Tourism companies and hotels could work together to provide end-to-end travel packages that include flights, train tickets, limousine and bus services, and accommodations. Other companies could capitalize on booming demand for luxury and outdoor activities, such as yacht tours or farm stays.

As demand grows and confidence increases, operators will naturally be inclined to revert to a more dynamic pricing model, based on indicators such as hotel occupancy and domestic-air-travel passenger numbers—and how they grow toward achieving prepandemic levels. That will then give companies an opportunity to refine optimal pricing mechanisms, especially around key domestic holidays such as Tet (the Vietnamese New Year). This is not something that all countries are getting right. Many hotels in Germany , for example, missed pricing or revenue-management opportunities when demand for summer travel reemerged last year.

In the future, dynamic pricing models and the revenue-management function will need to be revisited, based on three new axioms: traveler segments will not be the same for a long period of time and will be a stronger and more diverse domestic mix; demand elasticities will be different, with health concerns playing a more influential role in decision making; and demand will remain very volatile, as observed in Vietnam during the Tet holiday this year, when a small spike in COVID-19 cases led to a big drop in bookings and travel demand throughout the country.

The time for digital (really) is now

Even before the pandemic, consumer reliance on digital for travel-related bookings had been growing. In 2018, online travel activity made up 19 percent of the total tours and activity market size. The pandemic has made the adoption of mobile and digital tools even more essential. Strategic collaborations—such as online travel agencies providing ticket-booking services via instant messaging and social-media platforms—could offer an opportunity for increased market penetration.

At the same time, travel companies should revamp their online touchpoints and experiences to improve customer experience. This is already starting to happen: the website of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has virtual tours for its most popular destinations, and some tour guides have organized real-time online tours for international customers. In addition, a commercial titled, “Why not Vietnam” aired on CNN in October 2020 to drive international traffic to the website, and on the domestic level, a reality show with the same name offered up weekly online travel photo contests to engage viewers.

Furthermore, companies could also think about placing digital tools in new places within the customer journey. They must recognize that factors promoting customer loyalty may have changed; near-term uncertainty may mean, for example, that the ability to cancel a reservation matters more than brand choice or price. Taking this into account, companies could empower customers to build their own itineraries using connected digital tools that make it easier for them to modify or cancel their plans. Solutions and policies that provide choice and control will help build the long-term trust and confidence necessary to get travelers back on the road and in the air.

Lay the groundwork for inbound demand

To capture early outbound demand, travel players could benefit from tracking the development of travel bubbles. This is especially relevant for Vietnam, as the majority of tourists to Vietnam are from nearby regions with strong economic ties and relatively low transmission rates. As stated earlier in this article, our analysis finds that nearby countries such as China, Malaysia, and Thailand could provide inbound expenditure growth of at least the CAGR between 2020 and 2025 (Exhibit 3).

In this context, travel companies will need to be flexible and nimble to capture early international-travel demand—and should be prepared to implement strict health and safety protocols that fulfill the stipulations of both domestic and destination security policies. That said, betting on travel bubbles cannot in itself be a strategy in the short term, as international arrivals are expected to remain low in 2021, and foreign demand will not return to 2019 levels before 2025.

Reinvent the traveler’s experience beyond accommodation—and ‘redistribute’ tourism investments toward unconventional and more diverse destinations

Globally, travelers are personalizing their trips through destination adventures. Tourism spending is shifting away from accommodation to activities—a trend that holds true for Vietnam. According to a report released by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Vietnamese travelers have allocated smaller budgets for accommodation in the past few years, accounting for approximately 15 percent of travel expenditures in 2019, down from 23 percent in 2011.

Instead of spending on luxury accommodations, travelers are saving money for destination experiences. Many tourists are booking activities before they travel, which suggests the in-destination experience has a bigger impact in the overall tourist decision-making process. Many adventure activities, such as cave discovery, highland hiking, isolated island stays, water sports, and food festivals have become the main reason for travelers to visit a destination in the first place.

In Vietnam, examples of efforts aimed at developing a distinct experience—rather than specific infrastructures—have emerged recently, such as the development of Ho Chi Minh City’s “night economy,” and diversified marketing from the Binh Duong province to spotlight its festivals as main attractions. VNAT is also participating in this effort, specifically making farm stays in mountainous areas an axis for the development of more indigenous experiences. Meanwhile, other regions are also marketing unique experiences: Dalat is promoting its hiking and camping attractions, Mui Ne its golf and water sports, and Ninh Binh and Phong Nha-Ke Bang their nature activities.

Local operators, who often lag behind big travel companies in terms of resources but are more agile in organizing personalized activities, can leverage increasingly popular online players to connect directly with customers and provide these options. International online travel agencies such as TripAdvisor, as well as closer-to-home players such as Traveloka  and Triip.me, have been building dedicated “experience” platforms to inspire users and allow them to choose the most suitable tours by providing a range of attractive options for destination adventures. Tourism companies could shift their efforts away from building resorts and selling sightseeing tickets to designing exceptional activities and leverage these platforms to take advantage of travel-experience trends.

Reimagine government’s role in tourism

In most countries, reinventing the tourism industry will involve industry professionals working in concert with industry groups and governments . Vietnamese tourism administrators have an exciting opportunity to reimagine their roles and lead the sector through recovery and beyond—first, by boosting domestic demand to make up for lost income from international travelers, and second, by promoting Vietnam’s image as a country that has managed the pandemic fairly well. To do this, three things should occur:

• In the short term, government and industry associations need to ensure the survival of operators. The government can experiment with new and sustainable financing options such as hotel revenue pooling, in which a subset of hotels operating at higher occupancy rates share revenue with others. This would allow hotels to optimize variable costs and reduce the need for government stimulus plans.
• In the midterm, government-backed digital and analytic transformation is necessary, especially to level the playing field for small and medium-sized enterprises, which made up more than 50 percent of travel suppliers in 2018. Encouraging and helping local operators adjust to the demand for online travel services is critical to help them stay competitive. Government can play a vital role as a matchmaker, connecting suppliers to distributors and intermediaries to create packages attractive to a specific segment of tourists, and then use tourist engagement to provide further analytical insights to travel intermediaries. This ability allows online travel agents to diversify their offerings by providing more experiences off the beaten track. The Singapore Tourism Analytics Network (STAN) and the Tourism Exchange Australia (TXA) platforms are examples of how this mechanism can work at scale.
• Finally, Vietnam has a solid opportunity to boost its stature as an adventure destination. Governments and industry associations can leverage the overall momentum of the country, as well as the expected return of international travel, to boost demand. Our analysis finds that in the Asia–Pacific region, adventure remains the leading travel trend searched by travelers, so Vietnam is well positioned to leverage this trend. Similarly, investments are also expected to shift away from mega development projects, such as Phu Quoc and Nha Trang, toward small- and medium-scale projects and cities that offer specialized offerings like sports tourism, medical tourism, and even agricultural tourism.

Travel players in Vietnam can seek to accelerate the industry’s recovery by capturing emerging growth opportunities domestically as they gradually rebuild international travelers’ confidence. Our six steps should set the stakeholders in Vietnam’s travel industry in the right direction and help them thrive in the tourism economy of the future .

Margaux Constantin is a partner in McKinsey’s Dubai office; Matthieu Francois is an associate partner in the Ho Chi Minh City office, where Thao Le is a consultant.

The authors wish to thank Celine Birkl, Bruce Delteil, and Alex Le for their contributions to the article.

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Vietnam Welcomes 18m Foreign Tourists in 2019, an All-Time Record

According to the General Statistics Office, in December 2019, the country welcomed 1.7 million tourists from other countries.

This brings the total number of international visitors to Vietnam this year to 18 million, which is a 16.2% increase compared to last year and an all-time record, Vietnamplus reports. Out of these 18 million tourists , 79.8% arrived by air, 18.7% traveled by road, and the rest arrived through water transport.

In 2019, Asian tourists accounted for 79.9% of all international tourists, and visitor numbers from the continent grew 19.1% compared to last year. The number of visitors from other regions also increased, namely Europe (6.4%), the Americas (7.7%) and Africa (12.2%). The only exception is the number of visitors from Australia, which saw a 1.2% decline compared to 2018.

As for domestic visitors, Vietnam saw 85 million Vietnamese travel this year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Total revenue from both international and domestic tourists this year reach VND726 trillion (US$31.4 billion), a 17.1% increase from last year. Vietnam’s tourism industry targets to have 20.5 million international visits and 90 million domestic tourists in 2020.

The tourism sector also aims to rake in a total revenue of VND830 trillion (US$35.9 billion) next year. The objective was laid out by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has been tasked with coming up with initiatives and programs in order to achieve this goal.

[Photo via Flickr user JD ]

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Vietnam tourism achieves impressive accomplishments in 2019

Vietnamese tourism performed well in 2019 with outstanding results. "> vietnamese tourism performed well in 2019 with outstanding results..

  Trang An in Ninh Binh Province

Vietnam won four awards at World Travel Awards 2019 in late September. It won Top Destination in Asia 2019, Top Gastronomic Destinations in Asia 2019, and Top Cultural Destination in Asia 2019, and Hoi An won the title of Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2019. It also received dozens of nominations for transportation, accommodation and cuisine at the awards, including nominations in major categories including World's Leading Cultural Destination 2019, World's Leading Destination 2019, World's Leading Tourist Board 2019, World's Leading City Destination 2019, World's Leading Culinary Destination 2019, and World's Leading Cultural City Destination 2019. Ha Long Bay and Danang were nominated as top global destinations. Vietnam Airlines had seven nominations and Vietravel had two nominations. Various hotels and resorts in Vietnam received 23 nominations such as the JW Marriot, Intercontinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, and Anantara Quy Nhon. In January, Vietnam won 15 ASEAN tourism awards at a ceremony held as part of the ASEAN Tourism Forum. Such achievements are the recognition of efforts and strong development of Vietnam's tourism industry. Vietnam received over 1.5 million international tourists in January 2019 alone. Since July to November, the number of international tourists continued rising reaching record numbers of 1.62 million tourists and 1.8 million tourists in October and November respectively. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Vietnam received over 18 million international tourists in 2019, meeting the set goal to receive 17.5-18 million tourists. These achievements were also motivations for the tourism industry to improve. There are still many problems that Vietnam must address and have been raised by many experts to encourage tourists to return to Vietnam and ensure the sustainable development of the sector. Some of the most talked-about issues were visa procedures and exemptions, overcharging, overcrowding at many locations and service quality.

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HA NOI, Vietnam (Oct. 15, 2019) — Vietnam nabbed the title of ‘Asia’s Best Destination’ for the second year in a row, and scooped up its first trophy as ‘Asia’s Leading Culinary Destination’ at the World Travel Awards (WTA) Asia and Oceania Gala Ceremony 2019, held in Phu Quoc on October 12. Industry leaders and VIPs from across the region gathered at the Vinpearl Convention Centre on Vietnam’s largest island to celebrate this year’s winners of WTA, widely considered the travel industry’s most prestigious awards programme.

Apart from claiming the award for ‘Asia’s Best Destination’ for the second consecutive year, Vietnam tourism officials accepted WTA trophies in the categories of ‘Asia’s Leading Cultural Destination 2019’, ‘Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2019’ for Hoi An, and ‘Asia’s Leading National Park’ for Cuc Phuong National Park.

The awards underscore a remarkable period of activity and growth in Vietnam’s tourism sector. International visitors to the country have increased three-fold since 2010. Recently, Vietnam’s tourism body extended its 30-day e-Visa programme to nationals of 46 countries, debuted a revamped tourism website at www.vietnam.travel, and launched the ‘#VietnamNOW’ campaign to introduce travellers to Vietnam’s diverse tourism offerings.

Vietnam’s outstanding travel businesses also won big at the gala ceremony in Phu Quoc. Notably, Vietnamese brands bested regional competitors to pick up the following trophies:  

• Vietnam Airlines - ‘Asia’s Leading Airline – Economy Class’
• Hotel de la Coupole MGallery by Sofitel - ‘Asia’s Leading New Hotel’
• Anantara Quy Nhon Villas - ‘Asia’s Leading New Resort’
• Van Don International Airport - ‘Asia’s Leading New Airport’
• Vinpearl Resort & Spa Phu Quoc - ‘Asia’s Leading Family & Beach Resort’
• The Grand Ho Tram Strip - ‘Asia’s Leading Resort’
• InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort - ‘Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort’
• Vietravel - ‘Asia’s Leading Tour Operator’  

The World Travel Awards recognises and celebrates excellence in travel, tourism and hospitality as chosen by voters across the globe. Established in 1993, the ceremony is conducted with three rounds of awards on national, regional and global levels.

Vietnam will also be among the global winners at the World Travel Awards Grand Final Gala 2019, held in Oman this November.

The Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) is represented by Vietnam’s leading tourism stakeholders and has entered into a public-private partnership with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). TAB comprises representatives from a broad base of industry leaders in Vietnam’s travel and tourism sector. The mission of the TAB is to increase Vietnam’s competitive advantage as a sustainable tourism and travel destination by leveraging the country’s public and private resources, thus creating a cohesive and comprehensive industry strategy. TAB is grateful to its sponsors: Asia DMC, Muong Thanh Group, Saigontourist Holding Company, Sun Group, Thien Minh Group, BIM Land, Vietnam Airlines and VinGroup -- each of whom contributes to a privately managed fund dedicated to promoting tourism in Vietnam.  

Vietnam Named ‘Asia’s Leading Destination’ by World Travel Awards

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Encyclopedia of Tourism pp 1–3 Cite as

Vietnam Tourism

• V. Dao Truong 3  
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The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is located in the easternmost part of Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand (Fig. 1 ), covering an area of 331,210 km 2 (127,881 mi 2 ). Administratively, Vietnam consists of 58 provinces and 5 municipalities. With a population of 96.5 million (2019), it is the world’s 15th most populous country. GDP per capita was US$2,700 in 2019 (World Bank 2020 ). Poverty rates have declined from over 70% (2002) to below 6% in 2019 (World Bank 2020 ). Vietnam’s economy is primarily based on agriculture, although substantial industrialization and modernization have begun.

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Government of Vietnam. 2020. Prime Minister’s decision 147/QD-TTg on the approval of the National Tourism Development Strategy to 2030. http://www.vietnamtourism.gov.vn . 13 Jan 2021.

Truong, V.D. 2013. Tourism policy development in Vietnam: A pro-poor perspective. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events 5: 28–45.

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Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. 2020. Vietnam tourism annual report 2019 . Hanoi: Vietnam Labor Publishing House.

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World Bank. 2020. Vietnam overview. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/overview . 13 Jan 2021.

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Truong, V.D. (2021). Vietnam Tourism. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_395-2

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Over 4.6 million foreign tourists visit Vietnam in Q1

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 Among the foreign arrivals, 83.6% have travelled to Vietnam by air, 13.5% by road and 2.9% by sea.

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Vietnam’s Tourism Industry Continues its Growth in 2018

With over 3000 kilometers of coastline, pristine beaches, dynamic growing cities, mountainous highlands, and diverse cultural and historic sites, Vietnam’s tourism industry continues to rank amongst the fastest-growing tourist destinations in the world, with revenue in 2018 reaching VND620 trillion (US$26.75 billion), up VND110 billion (US$4.75 billion) compared to 2017.

Since 2010, the number of international tourists has grown three-fold from 5 million to more than 15 million in 2018.

In 2018, international arrivals to Vietnam reached 15.5 million, up 2.7 million compared to 2017, while domestic tourists grew by 6.8 million compared to 2017, to an estimated 80 million in 2018.

Visitors coming by airways increased by 14.4 percent in 2018, while arrivals by road increased by almost 60 percent, and by seaway decreased by 16.8 percent.

Major destinations

Vietnam, recently named the “Asia’s Leading Destination” for the first time at the 2018 World Travel Awards, offers a variety of options for tourists such as cultural and historical tours, sea-based tours, adventure tours, eco-tours, and luxurious vacations.

In 2018, Ho Chi Minh City led among all the cities and provinces with 36.5 million visitors, which included 7.5 million international and 29 million domestic visitors. Hanoi, the capital, attracted 28 million tourists, including 5.5 million international tourists. Both cities also recently featured amongst the top 10 most dynamic growing cities in the world in JLL’s Short-Term City Momentum Index (CMI) 2019 .

Quang Ninh, a northeastern coastal province, emerged as one of the new destinations in 2018, attracting 12.5 million tourists, including 5.3 million international visitors. In addition, Da Nang, one of the largest city in Vietnam attracted 7.7 million tourists, including three million international tourists.

Other major destinations include Hoi An, a well preserved historical trading port and Phu Quoc, the largest island in Vietnam.

International tourists

In 2018, the number of visitors from Asia increased by 23.7 percent compared to 2017 to 12.1 million. China accounted for the majority at 4.96 million, up 23.9 percent, while the number of South Korean visitors increased the highest at 44.3 percent compared to 2017 to 3.48 million.

Visitors from Europe and America increased by 8.1 percent and 10.6 percent, to 2.1 million and 903,800 respectively. Tourists from Australia increased by only four percent in 2018 to 437,800, while inbound tourists from Africa witnessed a growth of 19.2 percent to 42,800.

The number of visitors from only two countries witnessed a decline in 2018. Cambodia and Laos, both neighboring countries witnessed a decline of 8.8 percent and 15.2 percent respectively.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), foreign visitors on an average spend $900 on a trip to Vietnam, compared to US$1,105, US$1,109 and US$1,565 spent in Singapore , Indonesia, and Thailand respectively.

Unlike Singapore and Malaysia, Vietnam’s tourism industry has been unable to develop its infrastructure in line with the rapid growth in the tourism industry and establish itself as a shopping destination or a hub for nightlife activities, which has an impact on its revenue. 

Government policies

In early 2011, the Vietnamese government released the “ Strategy on Vietnam’s tourism development until 2020, vision to 2030 ”, on developing the tourism industry as a major driver of economic growth. The plan focuses on training professionals, market development, branding strategies, infrastructure development, and developing tourism products and services with local cultural characteristics.

Recently in 2017, the Prime Minister approved Decision 1861/QD-TTg (“Decision 1861”), a VND30 trillion (US$1.32 billion) program to develop tourism and transport infrastructure at major tourist destinations mentioned in the “ Strategy on Vietnam’s tourism development until 2020, vision to 2030 ”. Poor provinces that are major tourist attractions will be given priority as most of their budgets are unable to meet the investment requirements for infrastructure development.

Along with Decision 1861, the government also approved the establishment of a VND300 billion (US$12.9 million) tourism development fund for promotional activities and building plans.

In addition to funding activities, the government has also relaxed visa policies by extending their existing policy of allowing visitors from 46 countries, including China , Japan , South Korea, the US, and the UK, to enter Vietnam for 30 days with a single-entry electronic visa until 2021.

The number of international tourists in Vietnam increased three-fold from just five million in 2010 to 15 million by 2018. Despite this rapid growth, there is room for further expansion in the sector, which is currently restrained by issues such as infrastructure, human resources, airport capacity, and branding.

Infrastructure

To ensure that the tourism industry achieves its full potential, the government needs to focus on infrastructure development, including airports and accommodation. Investments in airport infrastructure are slow compared to neighboring countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, forcing airports to operate at a higher capacity than their design capacities.

In addition, almost all the hotels in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi operate at full capacity, while newer destinations such as Da Nang and Phu Quoc have limited number of accommodation facilities to cater to the growing number of tourists.

The tourism labor productivity in Vietnam is VND77 million (US$3,297) per worker, which is around 40 percent and 45 percent of Thailand’s and Malaysia’s productivity, respectively. The Philippines is the only country in the region with slightly lower productivity than Vietnam.

The tourism industry has developed so rapidly in the last few years, that qualified labor has been unable to serve the growing number of tourists. Tourism schools in Vietnam account for only 60 percent of the industry’s demand, which has led to a shortage of qualified workers.

The country has more than 14,800 international and 8,600 domestic guides, with most of them based out of only the major tourist destinations. The ratio between the number of tourists and guides in Vietnam is almost double the international average.

The reason for such a shortage of qualified labor is the quality of training. After graduation, majority of the tourism professionals still need to go through months of professional training conducted by the enterprises.

The government needs to work closely with employers, training providers, and industry experts to develop training courses and qualification standards more in line with international industry practice.

Training tools need to focus on developing proficiency in foreign languages, soft skills, technical skills, and professionalism to meet the growing demand of tourism professionals.

In addition to infrastructure and labor, the government also needs to develop tourism products, conduct international marketing campaigns, and build brand awareness to increase revenue.

Spending in Vietnam continues to be one of the lowest in the region, unlike Malaysia and Singapore which are promoted as shopping, leisure, or entertainment destinations. Vietnam has the opportunity to rebrand itself by tapping into its rich cultural and historical heritage and diverse geography with unique landscapes.

Going forward

In 2019, the country expects to attract 103 million visitors, including 18 million foreign and 85 million domestic visitors, an increase of 15 and six percent respectively, compared to 2018.

By 2025, the government aims to generate US$45 billion in revenue from the tourism industry, increase the sector’s contribution to the GDP to over 10 percent, and account for over six million direct and indirect jobs.

Based on the growth trajectory, the targets seems achievable but would require the government to increase public funding in infrastructure, labor quality, marketing campaigns, and brand awareness to ensure that the tourism industry reaches its full potential.

Vietnam Briefing   is produced by   Dezan Shira & Associates .   The firm assists foreign investors throughout Asia from offices  across the world , including in  Hanoi  and  Ho Chi Minh City .   Readers may write  [email protected]  for more support on doing business in Vietnam.  

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Vietnam Tourism Revenue

• Vietnam's Tourism Revenue reached 29 USD bn in Dec 2023, compared with 21 USD bn in the previous year
• Vietnam's Tourism Revenue data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2000 to Dec 2023
• The data reached an all-time high of 32,754 USD mn in Dec 2019 and a record low of 1,228 USD mn in Dec 2000

View Vietnam's Tourism Revenue from 2000 to 2023 in the chart:

What was Vietnam's Tourism Revenue in 2023?

Vietnam's Tourism Revenue reached 29 USD bn in Dec 2023, compared with 21 USD bn in the previous year See the table below for more data.

Tourism Revenue by Country Comparison

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Cambodia, India, Indonesia are Vietnam's fastest growing tourism markets

C ambodia is Vietnam's most rapidly growing tourism market with the number of visitors from the country in the first quarter increasing by 335% from the same period of 2019.

It was followed by India (304%), Indonesia (188%), Taiwan (145%), Laos (125%), and Spain (123%), according to data from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.

Singapore, Australia, South Korea, and Germany rounded off the top 10.

Asia has become a bright spot for Vietnam’s inbound tourism due to the visa-free stay of 30 days for nationals of ASEAN member countries and the increasing launches of direct flights from Southeast Asia, insiders said.

A number of Indian billionaires have been hiring luxury resorts in Phu Quoc, Da Nang and Ha Long to organize weddings, further boosting Vietnam’s reputation on the global tourism map.

Australians are also increasingly traveling to Vietnam thanks to low airfares and a number of new direct flights from their country to Hanoi and HCMC.

Since last August citizens of European countries such as Spain and Germany have been able to stay visa-free for 45 days instead of the earlier 15.

According to the tourism authority, the number of Chinese tourists last year was only 30% of the 2019 figure, but 69% in the first three months of this year.

Many Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia have waived visas for Chinese and Indians amid an intense tourism race, and tourism experts want the Vietnamese government to do the same.

Singapore recently announced it would consider waiving visas for Indian tourists.

Martin Koerner, head of the Vietnam Business Forum’s tourism working group, said besides visa waivers Vietnam should also improve the quality and diversity of its tourism services and open offices in key markets to attract foreign visitors.

The number of foreign arrivals in January-March was 4.6 million, up 3.2% from 2019, the first time a quarterly number has exceeded pre-pandemic levels since the country reopened its borders in March 2022.

It represented a 72% increase from last year and 25% of this year’s target of 18 million.

Thailand records 9.4 mln tourists in first 3 months, $12.4 billion in spending, government says

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