Tourists take a double-decker bus to visit Hanoi - Photo: TTD
The bright spot in the growth of the tourism industry creates a driving force for the development of other industries and fields, as well as actively and effectively contributing to the implementation of economic growth targets.
The "golden" half year of Vietnam tourism
On July 7, speaking with Tuoi Tre , Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel, informed that in the first 6 months of 2025, Vietravel had international tourist markets that increased sharply and steadily, bringing in significant revenue.
From her story, looking at the overall picture of Vietnam's tourism industry, Ms. Hoang assessed that the strong growth in the number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first 6 months of 2025 is the result of open visa policies, improved aviation infrastructure, and the shift in international tourism trends after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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"In addition, Vietnam is gradually emerging as an attractive destination thanks to its diverse products, reasonable costs and efforts to promote the national image.
Many tourism businesses have proactively restructured inbound market products, promoting communications in key markets such as Northeast Asia, Europe, Australia, India... to catch this wave," Ms. Hoang analyzed.
Meanwhile, the business in the first 6 months of the year was quite bustling, the story of Vietluxtour travel company, when Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, representative of this company, said that the number of international visitors increased by 20% compared to the same period in 2024, especially Russian visitors.
To attract international visitors, Ms. Thu added that in addition to its strengths in the European and American markets, Vietluxtour is exploiting new markets such as Korea, India, Sri Lanka, Australia...
At the same time, exploit well cultural and historical thematic tours, event-based tours, MICE tours (with diverse types from package tours, custom-made tours to partial services)...
Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism - Data: THAO THUONG - Graphics: TAN DAT
1 of 10 highlights of the country in the first 6 months of the year
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, thanks to a flexible visa policy and effective tourism promotion and stimulus activities, the tourism industry welcomed nearly 10.7 million international visitors in the first half of the year, completing nearly 49% of the growth target for the whole year of 2025.
The number of international visitors this half year increased by 20.7% compared to the same period last year and was 25.7% higher than the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of visitors this half year was even higher than the total number of visitors in the whole year of 2016 (10 million).
Explaining the increase in international visitors, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that it was mainly due to the impact of the visa exemption policy and the open issuance of e-visas, as well as thanks to innovation in tourism promotion and diversification of products and services. In particular, promoting Vietnamese tourism in Europe such as Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, etc. was effective.
Promoting film-media tourism, tourism on digital platforms... has also helped increase the presence of Vietnamese tourism in key international markets.
At the first Government conference with localities after implementing the two-level local government model, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed tourism as one of the 10 highlights in the first 6 months of this year.
With 10.7 million international visitors achieved in the first half of this year, the tourism industry is expecting to reach the "destination" (from 22 to 23 million visitors) of growth in 2025. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the time that is assessed to have the greatest impact on the number of visitors is the peak season from October to December every year.
Passengers queue up to go through immigration at Tan Son Nhat airport (HCMC) on the morning of July 7 - Photo: DINH PHUC
Opportunities and solutions to increase international tourist attraction
According to Mr. Bui Thanh Tu - Communications Director of BestPrice Company, to reach the milestone of 22 - 23 million visitors by 2025, Vietnam needs an average of about 1.9 - 2 million international visitors per month from now until the end of the year.
"Apart from difficulties, we also have favorable factors when Northeast Asian markets such as China, South Korea, and Japan are gradually recovering, while the ASEAN region and Europe continue to be a stable source of visitors. In addition, new visa policies expanding visa exemptions and increasing the length of stay also help Vietnam become more attractive to international visitors," said Mr. Tu.
Mr. Tu proposed 4 solutions to increase international tourist attraction, realizing the goal of welcoming 22 - 23 million international visitors this year.
First, promote key markets and emerging markets by increasing tourism promotion activities in fast-recovering markets such as South Korea, Australia, India, and the Middle East.
Along with that, expand high-end products in high-spending markets such as Australia, the US, Switzerland, Poland... India is also a potential customer market that needs to be exploited by developing suitable products (tours combined with weddings, cultural exploration, cuisine...)
Second, optimize visa and direct flight policies, increase frequency and open more direct flights to major cities in Australia, the US, Eastern Europe...; Implement and clearly communicate e-visa and visa exemption policies quickly so that customers can easily access and trust.
Third, create momentum from special events and new products by organizing international festivals, countdown programs, culinary culture festivals at major destinations, introducing "tourism with expert companions" or "healthcare tourism" products, developing green tourism, tourism combined with cultural experiences - things that international tourists are very interested in.
Fourth, stimulate demand through public-private partnerships. Local authorities need to work closely with businesses in promotion, communication, and organizing events at destinations. Airlines, OTAs, and large travel agencies need support to launch preferentially all-inclusive product packages that are easy to book - easy to travel - easy to experience.
Meanwhile, a representative of Vietluxtour said that the tourism industry needs to increase online marketing and develop e-commerce platforms specializing in Vietnamese tourism.
"We refer to the Chinese channel Ctrip.com, which is very popular with Vietnamese and international tourists, because with the current trend of technology development, tourists only need a few steps online to book a travel itinerary around the world," Ms. Tran Thi Bao Thu, representative of Vietluxtour, gave an example.
Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism - Data: THAO THUONG - Graphics: TAN DAT
Vietnam tourism growth highest in Asia-Pacific region
According to the World Tourism Barometer (May 2025) of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), in the first quarter of 2025, Vietnam tourism is a bright spot with the highest growth rate of international tourists in the Asia-Pacific region with an increase of 30% compared to the same period in 2024.
Vietnam also ranks 2nd in terms of recovery in international arrivals (up 34% compared to 2019) and 4th in terms of total tourism revenue growth, with 29% compared to 2024.
Opportunity to renew the destination
Speaking with Tuoi Tre , Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, marketing director of Vietravel Tourism Company, shared that changing the administrative name after the merger also brings opportunities as well as challenges for the tourism industry.
International tourists need time to get used to the new name. Travel agencies need to adjust their documents, tourism maps, and promotional content. However, this is also an opportunity to refresh the destination's image, tell the story of the land, and increase brand depth.
According to Ms. Van Khanh, in order for tourists to quickly adapt to the change, it is necessary to unify the use of the new name with the old name in the transition period. Along with that, update the website, map, tour products and communication content.
* Delegate BUI HOAI SON (full-time delegate at the Committee on Culture and Society):
Vietnam rises to become a world destination
The latest statistics from the General Statistics Office released on July 5 show a positive sign: in the first 6 months of 2025, Vietnam tourism welcomed nearly 10.7 million international visitors, an increase of 21% over the same period last year and far exceeding the same period in 2019 - the period before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In particular, the number of visitors arriving by air - nearly 9.1 million - continues to dominate, showing that aviation infrastructure is meeting the demand for expanding tourism space, while reflecting the attractiveness of Vietnam in the eyes of global tourists. Road and sea routes - although not yet having a large proportion - are potential channels, especially when border and coastal provinces are actively expanding connections and developing new products.
The above figures not only demonstrate the intrinsic vitality of the industry, but also demonstrate Vietnam's growing appeal to high-quality tourism: from beach resorts, MICE, golf tourism, to medical tourism, culinary tourism and cultural experiences.
Not only stopping at internal strength, Vietnamese tourism is gradually being recognized by the international community as a bright spot in post-pandemic recovery.
However, to achieve the goal of welcoming 22 - 23 million international visitors in 2025, there is still a lot of room left and many challenges to overcome.
Among many solutions, focusing on expanding visa exemptions, extending length of stay, and promoting multi-destination e-visas will be the keys to help Vietnam improve its competitiveness in the region.
Along with that is the upgrading of soft infrastructure: from tourist information, signs, environmental sanitation, to service attitude.
Traveling today is not just about sightseeing, but about experience. And that experience is created from the smallest details, from a friendly smile to the quick response of the service system.
Another thing worth mentioning is the need to focus more on the depth of the tourism product. We have talked a lot about destinations, about beautiful landscapes, but what keeps tourists longer and makes them come back is the different cultural experiences. This is the time for tourism to connect more deeply with cinema, literature, music, intangible heritage and contemporary living values that Vietnam possesses uniquely.
Da Nang welcomes nearly 4 million visitors since the beginning of the year
On July 7, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Da Nang City said that since the beginning of the year, destinations in Da Nang (old) have welcomed a total of nearly 4 million visitors. In particular, from May 31 to June 28, the highlight of the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival 2025, accommodation establishments served about 1.17 million visitors, an increase of 10.3% over the same period in 2024. Revenue from accommodation, food and beverage, and travel in the first 6 months of 2025 is estimated at more than 18,200 billion VND.
Da Nang continuously opens new flight routes connecting tourist centers of the world.
Notably, in June, the world's largest airline Emirates extended its flight route from Dubai, using wide-body Boeing 777-300ER aircraft transiting through Thailand and stopping in Da Nang City with a frequency of 4 flights/week.
This is considered a huge boost, negotiated by Da Nang City and Emirates for 2 years to bring tourists to the central coastal city.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/du-lich-viet-nam-don-lan-song-khach-quoc-te-tang-manh-20250708092841362.htm
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