On July 2, in Hanoi, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) organized a Business and Trade Connection Seminar. The event was an opportunity for more than 50 businesses, organizations and tourism management agencies of Vietnam and Japan to meet, exchange directly, introduce products, share market information, and at the same time initiate and strengthen specific, practical and effective cooperative relationships.
Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, emphasized that after decades of nurturing, the Vietnam-Japan relationship has developed strongly, the two countries have become comprehensive strategic partners. In particular, tourism is one of the emerging fields, playing the role of a bridge between culture, emotions and people between the two nations. Japan has also been the leading international tourist market of Vietnam tourism for many years.
Vietnam highly appreciates the sustainability, stability and strong growth potential of this market. In 2019, Vietnam welcomed more than 950,000 Japanese visitors, accounting for a large proportion of the total number of international visitors.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2024, the number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam reached nearly 700,000. In the first 5 months of 2025 alone, Vietnam welcomed more than 340,000 visitors from Japan, an increase of 18.3% over the same period last year.
Not only is Japan a market for tourists, it is also a strategic partner in sustainable tourism development. Cooperation projects between the two sides in the fields of human resource training, high-end tourism product development, heritage conservation and application of smart technology in destination management are being implemented, opening up new directions of depth and long-term.
Deputy Director Pham Van Thuy believes that with the similarities in East Asian culture, along with the foundation of good cooperation and close cooperation between the tourism industries of the two countries, the bilateral tourism flow between Vietnam and Japan will continue to boom, contributing positively to the recovery of the economy and tourism after COVID-19 and expanding the space for sustainable development in the future.
At the event, Mr. Ishikawa Isamu, Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, affirmed that tourism is a wonderful industry, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. Tourism is also a business activity, so it is important to understand customers and products.
Mr. Ishikawa suggested that representatives of Japanese tourism businesses, when visiting Vietnam, should spend time exploring beautiful and stylish cafes and bars in Hanoi to better understand the lifestyle of local people; and expressed his wish that Vietnamese travel companies would visit Japan more often.
Aiming to reach the goal of 2 million Vietnamese visitors to Japan by 2030, the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam hopes that this tourism promotion and connection event will contribute to further promoting exchanges between the two countries.
Assessing the market potential, Ms. Matsumoto Fumi, Chief Representative of JNTO in Vietnam, said: In recent times, the number of tourists between the two countries has grown positively thanks to the efforts of organizations and businesses in the industry. However, about 80% of Vietnamese people have never been to Japan, showing that there is still a huge market to exploit.
Ms. Matsumoto also pointed out that current Japanese tourism products still mainly focus on the "Golden Route" and peak seasons such as cherry blossoms (March, April) and red leaves (October, November), leading to overload in some major urban areas and famous tourist attractions in Japan.
In the context of increasing demand from travel companies for new itineraries and alternative destinations, Ms. Matsumoto hopes that through this tourism promotion and connection session, travel businesses in Hanoi will better understand the destinations and tourism services in Japan, and at the same time update tourism promotion documents from localities to contribute to strengthening cooperation and expanding the Japanese tourism market in the coming time./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hop-tac-viet-nam-nhat-ban-50-doanh-nghiep-va-to-chuc-day-manh-Giao-luu-ket-noi-post1047652.vnp
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