Vietnam captivates foreign tourists

The Great Adventure in Vietnam

"It may sound strange, but spending my youth in Vietnam is the thing I am most proud of in my life," Chris Wallace, a writer and photographer from New York (USA), confided. Having visited Vietnam 15 years ago, he returned in 2024 and expressed his utter surprise at the country that had hosted a part of his life. Everything was still there, the ancient buildings surrounded by banyan trees, fig trees, and purple phoenix trees, adding to the colors of passersby - creating a vibrant street scene. And for many years, Chris still craved fish cakes and milk coffee - the dishes he considered the best in the world .

The magnificent beauty of the "Roof of Indochina" - Fansipan peak

Photo: Bui Van Hai

In 2007, Chris Wallace moved from the US to Ho Chi Minh City to work in a French-Vietnamese restaurant. After 6 months, he quit to have the opportunity to wander around Vietnam and find inspiration for writing. Before leaving, he moved to the ancient town of Hoi An. "Returning to Hoi An this time, I brought with me a great nostalgia. The bright yellow bougainvillea flowers were blooming, the sweet summer light sparkled on the river, shining down on the ancient buildings. This is still one of the most charming scenes I have ever seen," he recalled. His friends who still live in Hoi An said that everything has changed a lot. "However, when walking through the old markets in the early morning, I feel like the flow of time has stood still here," Chris Wallace said.

On his return in 2024, after two weeks of visiting here and there, Chris returned to Ho Chi Minh City, which he considers his old hometown. "After 15 years of development, the city is almost unrecognizable. The metropolis I once knew has become too big. The French-era mansions are overshadowed by giant shopping malls and apartment buildings. I am overwhelmed by the size of the city. On this return trip, it took me a day or two to adjust again. Everything changes. We change," he recalled, adding that at the age of 29, 15 years ago, he had his greatest adventure in Vietnam.

Barry Peacock, a global citizen who has traveled and lived throughout Asia, remembers his arrival in Phu Quoc in 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit. "When the Vietnamese government was about to close the border, they kindly gave foreign tourists the choice of going home or staying. Many people got on the next flight to leave, but I and a few others chose to stay, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Over the years, Phu Quoc has become home to hundreds of tourists who love the island and its people. And since the first flight left after the pandemic, I have continued to return to Phu Quoc," Barry Peacock recounted.

Barry has many reasons to return, such as cheap prices, beautiful beaches and unspoiled nature, long dry season and the key point is "local people make you feel at home". "In Phu Quoc, there seems to be no distinction between foreigners and residents. When there is a football match, you can sit with strangers on the street watching TV, sharing a barrel of beer and a plate of snacks. When invited to a local's house, the table is always full and they do not expect anything from you. If you have a problem that needs help, everyone will wholeheartedly support," he said.

“One story I like to tell to illustrate the kindness of the people of Phu Quoc is the time I had a severe cramp on the way home after a day of climbing. I tried to stretch my leg but could barely stand. A local man came running out with a bottle of what I can only describe as “magic oil”. My leg was miraculously cured right in the middle of the road. No one forced him to help me, and he asked for nothing. Stories like this come up a lot when people talk about travel around Asia, but to me, they seemed even more common in Phu Quoc,” Barry Peacock recalls.

Those who come and stay

If one day, you suddenly feel bored with where you live, try going on social networks, searching for the sentence "Why I chose to move to Vietnam?/Why did I choose to come to Vietnam?", to see that there are many foreigners who have left their homeland and come to this place, choosing this place as their home. On social networks, Dr. Giannina Warren, currently teaching at an international university in Ho Chi Minh City, shared the reason why she moved to Vietnam after 13 years working in London (UK) and why she did not return to her hometown in Canada.

A lush green color covers the foot of Ba Den mountain

Photo: Bui Van Hai

Dr. Giannina Warren first came to Vietnam in 2009 as a tourist. She was immediately captivated by the colors, energy, and emotions of the country and its people. "When I returned home, I told many people that Vietnam was my favorite country in the world. After that, I had a time working remotely with a university in Hanoi and I have been to Vietnam a total of 8 times since 2017. Each time, I felt more and more familiar with this place, it felt like home," she shared. Therefore, when she was offered a position at an international university in Ho Chi Minh City, she immediately accepted. "Moving to Ho Chi Minh City in 2024 was the best decision I ever made. Vietnam has many special features. It is a developing country, young, dynamic and globally connected but also deeply cultural and community-based. Vietnam is now home in my heart, I did not come here to escape anything, I came because I was drawn to this country. The truth is that Vietnam not only changed my career but also changed the way I see the world," she emphasized.

Or like an American content creator nicknamed Grace in the world who told a fascinating story about her life in a series of videos on her personal channel, attracting a large number of viewers. "I quit my job at a non-profit organization, left my grown children, friends, colleagues, left my house and everything in the US to move to Vietnam to live. Am I crazy? No. I want to tell you that the American dream of many people is no longer my dream. I have been doing the same thing over and over again for many years but the result is still the same, life is still difficult and I cannot recover my energy. I have been here for 3 months, and then I can say that I am living again, in Vietnam," she said emotionally.

Although he did not stay, Ronan O'Connell visited Vietnam 19 times in 18 years and wrote a series of articles sharing his experiences in many foreign newspapers. Most recently, on the Escape page, the Australian tourist wrote: "I not only consider this the most wonderful tourist destination in Asia, but also shaped my life in many ways. Vietnam is where I first traveled alone, where I got engaged, where my wife became pregnant, where I decided to become a travel journalist, and where I had precious trips with my mother, brother and late father."

In the 18 years since his first visit, Ronan has found Vietnam to be a remarkable, growing, and booming land of opportunity. “On recent trips, I could feel the optimism as I wandered through the tourist-filled cities, chatting with taxi drivers, hotel staff, restaurant servers, and students trying to hone their English skills. Of course, positive vibes alone are not enough to make a destination appealing. Fortunately, Vietnam also offers incredible value, exquisite hospitality, reliable safety, diverse landscapes, stunning historical sites, and world-class cuisine. Vietnam captivated me at first sight, and somehow it just keeps getting more appealing,” Ronan O’Connell shared.

Star Christina Aguilera poses for photos on a yacht in Ha Long Bay

Photo: Instagram NV

Promoting Vietnam through tourists

Every tourist is an ambassador for Vietnam tourism and in fact, no one can promote the destination more effectively than those who have experienced it. Video clips on social networks, articles in international newspapers... by tourists have contributed significantly to promoting Vietnam tourism over the past time. In particular, singers, actors, football players... come to Vietnam to perform, combine tourism and post information and photos of the trip on their personal pages with millions of followers, bringing the image of Vietnam and its people to the world in the most effective way.

Martin Garrix, ranked number 1 in the list of the world's top 100 DJs for many years, shows off a series of photos inside Son Doong Cave on his personal page.

Photo: Instagram NV

For example, when coming to Vietnam to perform at the VinFuture Awards in late 2022, American star Christina Aguilera, who has won 5 Grammy Awards, along with her fiancé and 8 others, rented a helicopter to see Ha Long Bay from above. Then, she boarded a yacht and held a birthday party on the bay. Information about the singer's trip was widely published in the world press and on her personal social network with many followers. Or in early 2024, Martin Garrix, ranked number 1 in the list of the world's top 100 DJs for many years, went on an expedition to Son Doong Cave. On his Instagram page with 15.6 million followers at that time, Martin Garrix posted a series of photos inside the world's most magnificent cave, attracting hundreds of thousands of likes.

Majestic scenery inside Son Doong Cave

Photo: Oxalis

Mr. Truong Duc Hai, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hon Ngoc Vien Dong Tourism Company, affirmed: Promoting destinations through tourist channels, especially celebrities, is extremely effective. They have many fans who always follow their idols where they go, what they do, what they eat, which hotels they stay in... and set goals to follow. Therefore, if they have come to Vietnam for personal purposes and thereby promote the destination "for free", it will be extremely meaningful. Promoting the identity of the destination is very important because once it is recognized, promoting tourism products will be easier to access. "Many international stars recently came to Vietnam on their own to travel, or toured at the invitation of businesses, which means the destination has been promoted for free. Therefore, the tourism industry and international travel companies need to seize the opportunity to implement the next promotional steps so that tourists decide to book air tickets to Vietnam to follow in the footsteps of celebrities," Mr. Hai shared.

Vietnam in top 10 most peaceful destinations in Asia

The recently released Global Peace Index shows that Vietnam is in the top 10 most peaceful countries/territories in Asia - Pacific and in the top 3 in Southeast Asia. Conducted by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), this index ranks 163 countries and territories with criteria including social security and safety; the level of ongoing domestic and international conflicts; as well as the level of militarization. Accordingly, Vietnam is in the green zone of the 62 most peaceful countries/territories in the world, at position 38 with 1,721 points, up 1 place compared to last year, equal to Poland. In Asia - Pacific alone, the top 10 are New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea and East Timor.

Ho Chi Minh City ranks 2nd among the world's best cities for "retaining residents"

According to the City Pulse 2025 report by the Gensler Research Institute cited by The Independent Singapore News , Taipei (Taiwan), with 64% of residents surveyed saying they were "unlikely" or "very unlikely" to move, topped the list of cities with the best resident retention in the world in 2025. Closely following with a rate of 61%, Ho Chi Minh City excelled in second place, surpassing other famous cities in the world such as Singapore (59%); Sydney, Australia (58%) and Berlin, Germany (51%).

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-hop-hon-du-khach-ngoai-185251008214811379.htm