Vietnam tourism 'takes the lead' in potential international tourist market

(PLVN) - In recent years, Vietnam's tourism brand has become a familiar destination for international tourists. On the world tourism "map", Vietnam is a name that many major tourism markets in the world wish to cooperate with.

The number of foreign tourists is increasing rapidly.

Most recently, during a Q&A session between two Hollywood stars, Pedro Pascal asked Dakota Johnson which country was her dream destination. Without hesitation, the actress answered: “Vietnam”. The answer surprised Pedro Pascal, because that was also the place he was looking forward to visiting. Dakota Johnson then even invited Pedro Pascal to go with her.

Returning to Vietnam tourism in recent times, we can see the attractiveness of our country to international friends. In Phu Quoc, Kien Giang province welcomed tens of thousands of foreign visitors in the first months of 2025. The attractive tourist destinations of Phu Quoc are mostly tourists from Korea, Japan, the US, India... These tourists come to relax and unwind during the holidays. Foreign tourists have helped Kien Giang province "harvest" the number of visitors right from the beginning of 2025, an increase of 65% over the same period last year. Currently, when entering the peak summer tourist season this year, Kien Giang province is in a state of "overload" with both domestic and foreign tourists.

In Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province, a leading tourist destination in Vietnam, is becoming a "red address" favored by many foreign tourists. Based on data from the global travel platform Agoda, the number of hotel searches for check-in in June and July, Nha Trang is ranked No. 1 among overseas destinations favored by Korean tourists. International friends also favorably call Nha Trang "Naples of Vietnam", this beautiful coastal city has surpassed Tokyo.

In fact, Vietnam tourism is becoming a country that attracts foreign visitors. With the strength of beautiful beaches, youthful and vibrant cities, and attractive cuisine , our country has the strengths to become a typical name in tourism development in Southeast Asia.

In recent years, Vietnam tourism has been making positive changes to compete with its “intercontinental friends”. For example, accommodation in tourist destinations is increasingly diverse, serving a wide range of customers from budget to high-end.

In addition, Vietnam's tourism products are constantly being innovated and updated with world trends: Rural and experiential tourism; festival tourism; adventure tourism; eco-tourism; resort tourism, etc. are all focused on by provinces and localities in terms of investment in terms of communication, service quality and human resources.

A key factor for Vietnam tourism to attract international friends is the visa policy. Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, commented that the visa policy plays a particularly important role in attracting international tourists. On March 7, 2025, the Government issued Resolution No. 44/NQ-CP on visa exemption for citizens of 12 countries including Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom... This policy allows citizens of the above countries to temporarily stay for 45 days from the date of entry, regardless of passport type and purpose of entry. The policy implementation period lasts three years and will be considered for extension according to the provisions of Vietnamese law.

According to the General Statistics Office, in the first 5 months of 2025 alone, the number of international visitors to Vietnam increased sharply. Visitors arriving by air reached 7.84 million, accounting for nearly 90% of the total number of international visitors, many times higher than the same period in 2024. Visitors arriving by road reached 1.18 million, accounting for 12.9% of the total number of visitors, a slight increase over the same period last year. Visitors arriving by sea reached 175.4 thousand, accounting for 1.9% of the total number of visitors and an increase over the same period. Some potential markets sending visitors in the first 5 months of 2025 are China, Korea, the US, Japan, Taiwan (China), Cambodia,...

Foreign tourists love cultural experiences in Vietnam. (Source: PV)

Create links to expand potential international tourism markets

In addition to familiar markets, Vietnam's tourism industry is expanding, attracting tourists from countries with high spending on tourism. For example, the Halal tourist market (Muslim tourism) mainly comes from countries with large Muslim populations such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, India and countries in the Middle East.

The Muslim population has now exceeded 2 billion people, of which 67% will be under 40 years old by 2034, a group of young visitors with high travel demand and high spending, opening up great potential for destinations around the world. In recent years, Halal has become a potential customer segment, willing to spend large amounts of money on tourism services. Halal tourism is forecast to reach over 200 billion USD by 2025 and exceed 350 billion USD by 2030, becoming one of the fastest growing segments of the global tourism industry.

Vietnam’s tourism industry has great potential to welcome Halal tourists for vacations. The capital Hanoi is leading the way with many connections with countries with large Muslim populations.

Sharing with the media, Mr. Tran Trung Hieu - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism informed that in 2024, Hanoi recorded more than 650,000 visitors from these markets, accounting for about 15% of the total number of international visitors. The Indian market alone reached more than 325,000 arrivals, an increase of nearly 40% compared to 2023. Hanoi Tourism has been proactive in building a friendly tourism environment, meeting the diverse needs of international tourists, including special requirements in service organization such as welcoming tourists from the Muslim community.

In fact, Halal tourism is a potential market for the Vietnamese tourism industry. However, these are also high-end customers with strict demands. For example, the issues of eating, resting, chatting, etc. must be consistent with their customs and traditions. Therefore, serving this group of customers requires the Vietnamese tourism industry to invest more systematically and carefully to be ready to meet the needs of Halal tourists.

Not only the Halal tourism market is interested in Vietnam, but many other countries are also creating connections with provinces and localities of our country. For example, Khanh Hoa province has just organized a tourism promotion conference in Australia, marking a strategic step in the journey of expanding the international market and developing sustainable tourism. The number of Australian tourists interested in traveling to Vietnam is relatively large, especially in the summer, when people in the southern hemisphere are looking for a place to avoid the cold and relax.

In addition to the Australian market, in Thanh Hoa, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the province organized a conference to promote the Taiwanese (Chinese) tourist market with the participation of more than 40 travel agencies, Taiwanese (Chinese) media agencies and Vietnamese travel agencies specializing in welcoming international visitors. In recent times, the tourism connection between Thanh Hoa province and Taiwan (Chinese) has increasingly developed and achieved many outstanding results, the tourist market from Taiwan (Chinese) to Vietnam and vice versa has been increasingly exploited effectively by tourism businesses on both sides.

In addition to linking with international partners to develop tourism, direct flights are becoming a "bridge" to help international tourists travel to Vietnam more. Vietnam Airlines will launch the first direct flight between Vietnam and Denmark, connecting Ho Chi Minh City directly with the capital Copenhagen from December 15, 2025. This is the first and only flight to date that brings passengers direct flights between the two countries, marking a strategic step in the airline's efforts to expand its international flight network, while opening a new air bridge between Southeast Asia and Northern Europe.

The Northern European market is a potential tourism development direction for Vietnam, as the Vietnamese community living here is up to about 70 thousand people. In addition, the income of people in the Northern European region is relatively good, this is a group of customers who are willing to spend, ready to experience a variety of tourism services.

Huong Ngoc

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/du-lich-viet-nam-don-dau-thi-truong-khach-quoc-te-tiem-nang-post552488.html