Strengthening research cooperation and exchange of tourism development experiences between Vietnam and Japan

On the morning of November 11, Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh had a meeting and worked with the delegation of the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) led by Mr. Masafumi Shukuri - Chairman of JTTRI.

Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh speaks at the reception. Photo: TITC

At the meeting, Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh expressed his pleasure to welcome Mr. Masafumi Shukuri and his delegation to visit and work in Vietnam. Director of the Department of Information and Tourism, Vietnam as well as the world is entering a period of accelerated development. In 2023, Vietnam welcomed 12.6 million international visitors, serving 80 million domestic visitors, achieving a recovery rate of 70%. In 2024, Vietnam welcomed 17.6 million international visitors, an increase of 39% over the previous year, along with 110 million domestic visitors. According to data from the ASEAN Secretariat, Vietnam is the country with the highest tourism recovery rate in the region, reaching 98% compared to 2019.

In 2025, the Vietnamese Government assigned the tourism industry to strive to welcome 22-23 million international visitors and 120-130 million domestic visitors, with total revenue reaching VND980-1,050 trillion. In the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam welcomed 17.2 million international visitors, an increase of 21.5% over the same period in 2024, serving 125 million domestic visitors. According to the latest report of the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), in the first half of 2025, Vietnam and Japan were the two fastest growing destinations in the world, both achieving a growth rate of 21% over the same period last year.

Director Nguyen Trung Khanh emphasized that Vietnam's tourism has achieved impressive results thanks to many factors. Photo: TITC

The Director emphasized that Vietnam's tourism has achieved impressive results thanks to many factors. Notably, the Vietnamese Government's flexible visa policy allows the application of electronic visas for citizens of all countries with quick procedures, extending the stay to 90 days and allowing multiple entries and exits. Vietnam currently exempts visas for 24 countries, including Japan, and has expanded visa exemptions to include experts, scientists, people working in the fields of culture, arts, sports and tourism with positive influence...

In addition, localities and businesses have proactively invested in developing new tourism products with strong cultural identity to attract tourists; Promotion and advertising of domestic and foreign tourism have been strongly innovated, focusing on key markets such as Northeast Asia including Japan, Korea and China.

Along with that, the infrastructure system and technical facilities for tourism are invested in, digital transformation is promoted, and technology is applied more and more effectively in tourism management and promotion. Destination management, safety assurance, environmental sanitation and service quality are also enhanced, contributing to enhancing the image of friendly, attractive and safe Vietnamese tourism.

Overview of the working session. Photo: TITC

Regarding the situation of tourist exchange between the two countries, the Director said that in 2023, Vietnam welcomed 590,000 Japanese visitors, in 2024 it welcomed over 712,000 visitors, an increase of 21% over the same period, and in the first 10 months of 2025 it reached 679,000 visitors, an increase of nearly 9% over the same period. On the contrary, the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan increased steadily over the years, reaching 574,000 visitors in 2023, 621,000 visitors in 2024 and 530,000 visitors in the first 9 months of 2025. However, the growth rate of Japanese visitors to Vietnam is slowing down due to the impact of the Yen's devaluation, causing a decrease in demand for overseas travel. To enhance the exchange of visitors between the two sides, the Director proposed that the Japanese side consider visa exemption for Vietnamese tourists traveling in groups, thereby further promoting the number of Vietnamese tourists to Japan.

Regarding the future cooperation orientation, the Director wishes to continue to maintain and expand cooperation with JTTRI in many areas such as sharing information, research results on markets and two-way tourism trends; coordinating the organization of specialized seminars to promote development and attract tourists; participating in promotional activities in Vietnam and Japan; supporting training, introducing scholarship programs, short-term training courses for officials of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration; coordinating the organization of annual events alternating between the two sides; sharing experiences in the process of Vietnam reviewing and amending the Law on Tourism, building policies and in the field of digital transformation of tourism.

JTTRI Chairman Masafumi Shukuri thanked Director Nguyen Trung Khanh for sharing comprehensive and updated information and highly appreciated the impressive development results of Vietnam's tourism. Photo: TITC

JTTRI Chairman Masafumi Shukuri thanked Director Nguyen Trung Khanh for sharing comprehensive and updated information and highly appreciated the impressive development results of Vietnam's tourism. He also acknowledged that Japan is still facing difficulties due to the devaluation of the Yen, which has reduced the number of tourists going abroad. JTTRI Chairman affirmed his desire to continue to cooperate closely with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in researching and sharing experiences on tourism. In addition, he said that on November 12 in Hanoi, JTTRI and the Vietnam Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism will jointly organize the Workshop "Creative tourism to develop sustainable tourism destinations" and sign a cooperation agreement to contribute to promoting tourism development cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/tang-cuong-hop-tac-nghien-cuu-trao-doi-kinh-nghiem-phat-trien-du-lich-giua-viet-nam-va-nhat-ban-20251111163111383.htm