Powerfully opening the sky

In just the past month, seven new flight routes connecting various locations in Vietnam to major global tourism hubs have been officially launched. These continuously opening international routes not only contribute to enhancing Vietnam's position on the world aviation map but also provide strong support for the rapid development of tourism.

A flurry of new direct flights are being launched connecting major tourist destinations.

At 9:30 AM on July 3rd, Vietnam Airlines flight VN337 departed from Osaka Airport and landed at Da Nang International Airport at 12:25 PM the same day, marking the inauguration of the first direct flight connecting Da Nang City in Vietnam with Osaka City in Japan. With a flexible flight schedule and convenient connectivity, Vietnam Airlines expects the new route to effectively serve the travel, tourism, family visits, and trade needs between the two regions, especially for the community of over 50,447 Vietnamese people living in Osaka – one of the prefectures with a large Vietnamese population in Japan.

Charter flights bringing Russian tourists back to Khanh Hoa have helped boost the tourism industry significantly.

PHOTO: BA DUY

Mr. Dang Anh Tuan, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines, said: Since the first Ho Chi Minh City - Osaka route was launched in 1994, the airline's Vietnam-Japan flight network has expanded to 10 routes, averaging over 120 flights per week from Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City to Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. After 30 years, Vietnam Airlines has operated more than 100,000 flights between the two countries, transporting nearly 100,000 passengers.

16 million passengers. The Northeast Asian market, especially Japan, remains one of the most important international markets for Vietnamese aviation, with an average growth rate of 20% per year. Operating the Da Nang to Osaka route creates significant potential for tourism and trade between the two cities, and marks Vietnam Airlines' efforts in expanding its flight network in the North Asian region. This is not only an opportunity for the airline to connect more deeply with the world, but also demonstrates a strong commitment to bringing the image of Vietnam closer to international friends.

The Da Nang - Osaka route is the third route connecting to countries in the Asian region that the national airline has launched in the past month. Previously, on June 1st, the airline simultaneously launched two routes: Nha Trang - Busan (South Korea) and Ho Chi Minh City - Bali (Indonesia), meeting the demand for direct connections between tourist destinations with high travel needs. For the European market, the direct flight between Hanoi and Milan, launched on July 1st, marks the establishment of the first direct flight between Vietnam and Italy. This important gateway to Southwest Europe plays a strategic role in Vietnam Airlines' flight network, helping passengers conveniently access destinations across Europe. With the launch of the direct flight to Italy, the total number of direct routes operated by Vietnam Airlines to Europe has increased to nine, in addition to the airline's direct flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Paris (France), Frankfurt and Munich (Germany), London (UK), and Moscow (Russia).

The first passengers on the Da Nang - Osaka flight, newly launched by Vietnam Airlines on July 3rd.

PHOTO: VNA

This year, Vietnam Airlines plans to open a total of 15 new international routes to destinations such as Russia, Italy, Denmark, China, India, Japan, South Korea, and the UAE.

Similarly, expanding its international flight network is also a mission for Vietjet in 2025. At the beginning of the year, Vietjet marked a significant milestone in its development with the launch of its first flight from Vietnam to the United States. Since then, Vietjet has opened many more routes connecting Vietnam with top destinations in Australia, the populous countries of India and China, and is planning to expand further to Europe in the near future. These routes not only depart from the two gateways of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi but also focus on direct flights to attractive tourist destinations in Vietnam such as Nha Trang, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc…

At the annual shareholders' meeting at the end of May, Vietjet Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao affirmed Vietjet's mission to continuously expand its international flight network, enhance its presence in the region and globally, and pioneer in connecting new destinations, opening up opportunities for the development of trade, tourism, and investment.

Wherever the skies open up, tourism will flourish.

Looking at the 2024 business results of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet, it's clear that international routes are the "golden goose" that helped these airlines make an impressive comeback after the post-Covid-19 crisis. In 2024, Vietjet achieved over VND 1,426 billion in after-tax profit, a 516% increase compared to 2023, thanks to its strategy of expanding its international flight network while maintaining a stable domestic network. During the year, Vietjet operated a total of 145 routes, including 44 domestic and 101 international routes. Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines announced brilliant first-quarter business results, achieving record revenue of nearly VND 31,107 billion, with estimated pre-tax profit for the first three months reaching nearly VND 3,625 billion. For the full year 2024, Vietnam Airlines also recorded its highest after-tax profit in history – reaching VND 7,958 billion. A representative from Vietnam Airlines stated that the recent positive business results were achieved thanks to the strong recovery of the market, especially the international market.

Conversely, direct flights also serve as a bridge to strongly promote tourism development. For example, after adding new flight routes between Munich and Vietnam, the performance of the Germany-Vietnam route has shown significant growth. The passenger growth rate on the Hanoi-Munich route has improved week by week and month by month, and has now reached a seat occupancy rate and operational efficiency equivalent to the Frankfurt-Vietnam route.

For Russian tourists, after nearly three years of suspension, charter flights connecting 11 Russian cities with Nha Trang officially resumed operations at the beginning of the year, creating a strong boost for Nha Trang tourism in the first half of the year. In the first quarter alone, Khanh Hoa's tourism industry welcomed approximately 49,100 Russian tourists, an increase of 110.74% compared to the same period in 2024. In May, Khanh Hoa had 16 charter flights and 3 commercial flights per week bringing Russian tourists to Cam Ranh airport. The Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism affirms that the increase in direct flights in recent times has strongly promoted the recovery of the Russian tourist market. In the coming time, the number of Russian tourists to Khanh Hoa will continue to increase significantly; it is expected that the number of flights bringing Russian tourists to Khanh Hoa from July to the end of the year will increase to 90-100 flights/month.

Meanwhile, a recent Mastercard report on travel trends for 2025 shows Phu Quoc as a particularly attractive destination in Asia. Growth in Asian visitors arriving in Phu Quoc by air is projected to exceed 200% in 2024 compared to 2019, proportional to the rate of new flights and increased frequency of direct flights bringing international tourists to Vietnam's pearl island.

Given the projected surge in tourism demand in the coming period, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) requires Vietnamese airlines to continue expanding and developing international air transport operations in 2025; especially to boost international flights to airports in localities with tourist destinations such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, Hue, Phu Quoc, Van Don, Cat Bi, Da Lat… in order to promote domestic air transport and ensure that the travel needs of passengers are well met.

Vietnam leads Asia in international tourism growth.

According to the May issue of the World Tourism Barometer by the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), in the first quarter, Vietnam led the Asia-Pacific region in international tourist arrival growth (up 30% compared to Q1 2024) and ranked second in international tourist arrival recovery (up 34% compared to Q1 2019). Globally, in the first three months of 2025, Vietnam ranked sixth in international tourist arrival growth (up 30% compared to Q1 2024) and fourth in total tourism revenue growth (up 29% compared to the same period in 2024).

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/manh-me-mo-cua-bau-troi-185250704204631246.htm