Promoting Vietnamese destinations in Europe: How to be effective and sustainable?

To promote the image of Vietnam and its people effectively and sustainably, it is necessary to first build a clear brand, take advantage of digital technology, popular culture, major events and the power of people...

The plan to promote Vietnamese tourism abroad in 2025 has been "finalized" by the leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The National Tourism Administration said it will coordinate with relevant units to organize 7 large-scale programs in key European markets with the participation of localities and businesses.

Each opportunity to “bring the bell to strike foreign lands” is an opportunity for Vietnam to introduce its policies, destinations, and tourism products. In particular, this is also an opportunity for businesses to connect, establish cooperative relationships, and attract European tourists to travel to Vietnam and vice versa. Although many programs have been continuously organized in recent times and initially showed positive signs, how to promote them effectively and sustainably is still a matter of discussion.

How to promote in Europe?

The leader of the National Tourism Administration informed that this May, the Administration will have a program to introduce Vietnamese tourism in three countries: France, Italy and Switzerland. According to the plan, the program to introduce Vietnamese tourism and the business meeting program (B2B) will be held in Milan (Italy) on May 6, in Geneva (Switzerland) on May 8 and in Paris (France) on May 12.

Notably, the Hue Royal Court Music performance will take place on the evening of May 11, at Trocadero Square (Esplanade de Trocadero), Paris (France).

Participating in this promotional delegation are the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, artisans, artists, hotel, travel and airline businesses. In addition, the Hue City People's Committee will coordinate to promote the potential and strengths of the locality and introduce the National Tourism Year - Hue 2025 to many international friends and tourists.

The Hue City People's Committee will introduce the unique and sophisticated features of Hue culture to the European tourist market this May. (Photo: National Tourism Administration)

At the event, the Hue City People's Committee will introduce the unique and sophisticated features of Hue culture; promote the brands "Hue - Culinary Capital", "Hue - Ao Dai Capital", "Hue - Festival City" of Vietnam. At the same time, introduce and promote the image, culture, people and attractive, safe, friendly and hospitable tourist destinations of Hue...

Vietnam tourism has identified Europe as a key tourist market, as this source of visitors often chooses long-term vacations and high spending. In 2024, Vietnam welcomed more than 1.8 million European tourists, with the largest number coming from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. In the first quarter of 2025, visitors from the European market to Vietnam continued to increase at a rate of nearly 20% over the same period last year, reaching over 791,000 visitors.

In the French, Swiss and Italian markets alone, in 2024, Vietnam will welcome 279,000 French visitors, 89,000 Italian visitors and 33,000 Swiss visitors. In the first quarter of 2025, there will be about 102,000 French visitors, 31,000 Italian visitors and 12,000 Swiss visitors to Vietnam.

The program to promote Vietnam's destinations has shown its effectiveness on the global website ranking similarweb.com, when in March 2025, the website https://vietnam.travel of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism rose to 2nd place in Southeast Asia - ranked 120,809 in the world, behind the tourism website of Thailand (ranked 88,657) and ranked above Singapore (ranked 120,869), Indonesia (ranked 160,089), and far surpassing Malaysia (ranked 401,954), Philippines (ranked 1,157,026).

Vietnam tourism has identified Europe as a key tourist market, because this source of tourists often chooses long vacations and is willing to spend a lot. (Illustration photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

Notably, the rate of foreign access to the website vietnam.travel reached 83%, almost equivalent to the Singapore website (87%), much higher than the websites of Thailand (48%), Indonesia (66%), Malaysia and the Philippines (64%).

India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia… are the countries with the most traffic to the website vietnam.travel. Of which, traffic from the Indian market increased by 51.7%.

It can be said that promotional programs and open policies on visas and immigration have created great advantages in attracting international visitors to Vietnam and its international appeal.

Must build a unique tourism brand

Recently, industry leaders have been more active in leveraging the influence of sporting events (F1, SEA Games), international conferences (APEC, P4G), or cultural exhibitions, organizing the Hoi An Lantern Festival, Hue Festival, "Vietnam Cultural Week" in major cities such as London, New York, Seoul... to introduce Vietnamese cuisine, music and art on a larger scale to attract global media and spread the image of the country's destination.

To promote the country and people of Vietnam effectively and sustainably, Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, Head of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) Secretariat, believes that a comprehensive strategy is needed, taking advantage of both tradition and modern technology, while focusing on building a unique image and positive emotions in the hearts of international tourists.

Traditional Vietnamese music and arts are a "gold mine" for Vietnam's smokeless industry to build unique tourism products. (Illustration photo: Contributor/Vietnam+)

Mr. Chinh emphasized that the first thing to do is to build a unique tourism brand. “It is necessary to create a short, memorable message that reflects the Vietnamese identity. Currently, the slogan 'Vietnam - Timeless Charm' is used, but it needs to be clarified by associating it with specific images such as the ao dai, conical hats, Ha Long Bay, or Vietnamese smiles,” Mr. Chinh said.

According to experts, at this time, Vietnamese tourism needs to take advantage of the power of digital media. In fact, 70% of world tourists (according to Statista, a German online platform specializing in collecting and visualizing data) are currently searching for information via social networks before choosing a destination.

Therefore, investing in platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook with short, eye-catching content (for example, 15-30 second videos about the beautiful scenery of Ha Long, floating markets, street food, etc.), or cooperating with international influencers (travel bloggers, vloggers) to promote and naturally spread the beauty of Vietnam is an effective trend.

Mr. Chinh suggested that developing an official tourism portal like vietnam.travel with a friendly, multilingual interface and suggested itineraries for tourists would bring positive results.

In addition, according to experts, cooperating with international film producers to bring Vietnam's beautiful landscapes into Hollywood movies or TV series, while promoting cultural exports through music, cuisine, fashion (such as ao dai), or inviting famous directors to film in Son Doong, Hoi An, organizing international film festivals in Vietnam to increase recognition... is also a sustainable way to promote the country's tourism.

Vietnam tourism is a favorite destination for the European tourist market. (Illustration photo: CTV/Vietnam+)

“To effectively and sustainably promote the country and people of Vietnam, it is necessary to combine clear brand building, take advantage of digital technology, popular culture, major events, and the power of people. If implemented synchronously and invested seriously, Vietnam can completely enhance its image, not only attract but also retain tourists for a long time, competing on par with the 'big guys' in the region,” Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh emphasized./.

Last March, a video clip promoting the beauty of Vietnamese tourism in response to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 2025 Tourism Development Stimulus Program with the theme "Vietnam: Go to Love!" was released.

In more than 4 minutes, the video clip clearly depicts the spectacular beauty of the beautiful, hospitable S-shaped country. It is the beautiful, majestic natural landscape, unique traditional cultural identity, friendly and hospitable people, diverse tourism products, rich cuisine, high-class and quality services, always ready to welcome visitors from all over the world; affirming the position and brand of Vietnam tourism as a leading attractive destination.

The video clip is expected to spread widely, bringing complete emotions and positive energy, inspiring travel, attracting tourists to admire, learn, experience and explore, contributing to making Vietnamese tourism shine on the world tourism map.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/quang-ba-diem-den-viet-nam-o-chau-au-lam-sao-de-hieu-qua-ben-vung-post1036833.vnp