Tourism accelerates to welcome new opportunities

According to the latest data from the National Tourism Administration, in February, Vietnam welcomed nearly 1.9 million international visitors, bringing the total number of international visitors in the first two months of 2025 to nearly 4 million, an increase of 30.2% over the same period last year. The increase of 30.2% is very impressive, because the first two months of last year was also the period when Vietnam's tourism accelerated strongly in the number of international visitors, increasing by 68.7% over the same period in 2023, reaching more than 3 million. It can be seen that we not only continue to maintain our performance but also accelerate more and more.

In terms of market, the situation has also changed a lot when Korea no longer holds the first position in the top markets sending the largest number of visitors to Vietnam. Instead, China has made an extremely impressive comeback when recording a growth rate of nearly 78%, equivalent to 956,000 arrivals, accounting for 27.7% of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam in the past 2 months.

This strong recovery is considered the result of a series of activities to connect and open up the market, strengthen cooperation and exchange of tourists between authorities, localities and enterprises of the two countries. Tourism routes between Vietnam and China are increasingly vibrant, as products are continuously supplemented with diverse destinations and affordable prices, meeting the needs of many customer segments. Among them, the "golden" tourism route - "Two countries - Six destinations" (Kunming, Hong Ha, Sa Pa, Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ha Long) has become a model tourism product, attracting a large number of tourists from both countries. In addition, in recent times, many new flight routes have been opened, making travel between localities of the two countries much more convenient, especially between major tourist centers, such as the charter flight from Hai Phong to Lijiang (China) starting in June 2024; opened the Hanoi - Haikou (Hainan, China) route and most recently, West Air Airlines opened a new route Hanoi - Chongqing (China) with a frequency of 3 flights/week. Up to now, there are more than 330 flights per week between Vietnam and China.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Chinese tourists accounted for 1/3 of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam. Chinese people traveled everywhere in groups, in very large numbers. Therefore, this was the object of competition among tourism sectors, every country "looked at" this super big cake. In the second half of 2024, the acceleration of Chinese tourists to the second position in the market sending tourists to Vietnam was a great impetus to help the tourism industry achieve the target of welcoming nearly 18 million international visitors. Therefore, the positive signals from the beginning of this year brought great confidence to the challenging target of welcoming 22 - 23 million foreign visitors this year of the Vietnamese tourism industry.

This confidence was further reinforced by the unexpected return of Russian tourists. With 79,000 visitors in the past 2 months, Russia has reappeared after 3 years of absence in the top 10 largest tourist markets of Vietnam, since the conflict in Ukraine, not to mention the pandemic period. At that time, the entire tourism industry was restless because Russian tourists were considered one of the key source markets. When Vietnam first piloted the opening of tourism after the Covid-19 hibernation, Russian tourists were one of the first markets to enter Vietnam and accounted for the largest proportion.

Mr. Dang Minh Truong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Group, assessed that China and Russia were the two leading international tourist markets of Vietnam's tourism industry before Covid-19. For a number of reasons, these two markets have suffered a regrettable decline in recent years. However, recently, the number of visitors from these two markets has continuously shown signs of growth again, as shown by figures from the National Tourism Administration. Although the absolute number has not yet returned to the level of 2019, the impressive recovery of these two major tourist markets is extremely important, creating momentum and confidence for Vietnam's tourism industry in general and the tourism business community in particular, thereby making further efforts to develop and implement solutions to attract international visitors.

"Along with the Government and tourism industry's loosening, visa exemption and reasonable stimulus policies, the recovery of these two traditional international tourist markets is also an important lever to help Vietnam's tourism accelerate, aiming to successfully achieve the goal of welcoming 22-23 million international visitors in 2025," said Mr. Dang Minh Truong.

The General Statistics Office assessed that the strong recovery of tourism has contributed positively to the growth of the trade and service sector in the first two months of the year. Specifically, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue in February is estimated to increase by 9.4% over the same period last year. In the two months, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue increased by 9.4% over the same period, of which revenue from accommodation and food services increased by 12.5% and revenue from tourism and travel increased by 16.4%. Total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue at current prices in the two months is estimated at VND 1,137 trillion, up 9.4% over the same period last year (the same period in 2024 increased by 8.4%), if excluding the price factor, up 6.2% (the same period in 2024 increased by 5.3%). In addition, tourism revenue in the first two months of some localities increased sharply, such as Hue increased by 31.5%; Quang Ninh increased by 21.3%; Binh Duong increased by 17.1%; Da Nang increased by 16.6%; Ho Chi Minh City increased by 13.2%; Hanoi increased by 12.2%.

Vietravel Corporation Chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky analyzed: Tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, so if tourism is promoted, it will have a spillover effect on many other economic sectors. Not only consumption and services, but real estate, infrastructure, etc. can also flourish immediately if there are vibrant tourism activities. Because in the proportion of the local economic structure, the construction and industrial economy are very interested and focused. When tourism develops, the tourism real estate and resort real estate sectors will also revive, thereby increasing the proportion of the industrial and construction sectors. Along with that, tourism also makes an important contribution to the knowledge economy, through digital transformation from online sales networks, connecting and operating OTA channels, etc.

"It can be seen that tourism plays an important role in activating all industries that are considered the main driving force to help Vietnam's economy achieve high growth of 8% this year, which are investment, consumption, services, and the digital economy. The most important thing is the very fast spread. Ben Thanh Market is deserted, just need international visitors to come and immediately recreate the scene of traffic congestion around the market, and people selling goods. A series of resort and condotel projects in Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, Da Nang... are in disrepair, but when there are tourists, they are revived and decorated immediately. To achieve a large economic goal in a relatively short time, nothing is more effective than strongly promoting the development of tourism and services," Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky emphasized.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, affirmed that tourism is a very important driving force for the target of 8% GDP growth this year and double-digit growth in the coming period. Vietnam has passed the period of relying on traditional industries because these industries are saturated. "We have only welcomed 18 million visitors, which is not enough. Countries with less resources and potential than us can still welcome 40-50 million visitors, so Vietnam's potential is still very large. In the context of a country opening up strongly, when everyone is bustling to explore new things and enjoy life, Vietnam's choice of tourism as a key industry to explode in development and make a breakthrough is completely correct," said Mr. Thien.

Looking back at the recovery process of Vietnam's tourism after the pandemic so far, Mr. Dang Minh Truong said that Vietnam's tourism is converging many opportunities to enter a new era. Specifically, in recent years, Vietnam's tourism development policies have undergone strong changes, clearly demonstrating the determination of the Party and State in making tourism a spearhead economic sector. This change does not stop at the level of awareness but has been concretized into drastic and practical actions that are close to reality.

The most impressive thing is that the visa policy is becoming more flexible and relaxed, creating favorable conditions for international tourists to come to Vietnam. Under the direction of the Government, electronic visas (e-visas) have been extended to citizens of all countries and territories since 2023, helping to simplify entry procedures and increase competitiveness with other destinations in the region such as Thailand, Malaysia, etc. Most recently, the issuance of a visa exemption policy for citizens of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland to travel to Vietnam until the end of 2025, along with Resolution 44 (just issued on March 7) exempting visas for citizens of 12 countries, is an important step forward in Vietnam's policy of attracting international visitors.

According to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sun Group, in addition to the Government's attention and investment in the tourism industry, the more flexible and favorable visa exemption policy along with the comprehensive transformation of the country in many fields, the 30th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum taking place in Phu Quoc in 2027 can be considered a great opportunity for Vietnamese tourism to take the lead in new opportunities. The APEC 2027 event is not only an opportunity for Phu Quoc destination to accelerate, change its appearance and establish a new position on the international tourism map, but also an opportunity to increase the recognition of Vietnam's tourism brand globally. APEC is an important economic forum, bringing together senior leaders and businessmen from 21 member economies, including the US, China, Japan, Korea, Australia... These are all key tourist markets of Vietnam. In addition, this event will certainly attract the attention of international press and media, helping Vietnam become the center of world attention. Conference and exhibition activities on the sidelines of APEC 2027 will not only help Phu Quoc, but also create conditions for the Vietnamese tourism industry to introduce the natural beauty, culture and tourism services to international friends.

"From the perspective of businesses, we appreciate the close direction and attention of the Party and Government to create favorable conditions for the tourism industry. However, we still propose that the Government continue to relax the visa exemption policy so that Vietnam can improve its competitiveness with countries in the region, because although Vietnam's visa policy has improved, it is still modest compared to many neighboring countries," said Mr. Dang Minh Truong.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky also assessed that the visa exemption for the three countries of Poland, Czech Republic, and Switzerland has created a big boost for Vietnamese tourism since the beginning of the year. Right now, at the ITB Berlin 2025 International Tourism Fair taking place in Germany, Vietnamese tourism and aviation businesses, including Vietravel, are actively working with partners to make the most of this visa policy of the Government. Direct flights and charter flights to the Czech Republic have also been calculated to launch. The tourism industry is doing very well with the expectation of quickly creating a spillover effect so that the Government can continue to extend and expand such specific breakthrough policies.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, although the importance of tourism is clearly seen from the central to local levels, in reality, direct investment is still too little. In addition to implementing new experimental visa policies, there is no policy to create breakthrough products. The tourism industry is still struggling with the story of promotion and advertising without money. The tourism development investment fund exists but operates like the state budget, making it both difficult and slow to use. Tourism promotion agencies abroad have been talking about it for a long time but have not been able to implement it. Every locality has raised the priority policy of developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector, but the plan for land allocation and infrastructure allocation is still sluggishly implemented following the procedures of one law and another regulation. There are projects that need land but enterprises have waited for the locality to auction it for 2-3 years without completing it. That is a typical example of the "golden hoops" that hinder the development of the tourism industry.