Tourism in Vietnam

Tourism is important in Vietnam. For backpackers, culture and nature lovers, beach-lovers, military soldiers and veterans, Vietnam has become a new tourist destination in Southeast Asia. Local and international tour operators offer tours to ethnic minority groups, walking and bicycle tours, photography tours, kayak trips and multi-country trips in particular with neighboring Cambodia, Laos and Thailand. Foreign tourists have been able to travel freely in the country since 1997.

The economy of Vietnam has transformed from an agrarian to a service economy. More than a third of gross domestic product is generated by services, which include the hotel and catering industry and transportation. The manufacturing and construction (28 percent), agriculture and fisheries (20 percent) and mining (10 percent) have much smaller shares.[6]

Tourism contributes 4.5 percent to gross domestic product (as of 2007). After heavy industry and urban development, most foreign investment in Vietnam has been concentrated in tourism, especially in hotel projects.[7] According to usual report of World Tourism and Travel Council, tourism contributed 6.6 percent to GDP equal VND 279,287 billion (03/2016) which has important contribution promoting development of related sectors such as transportation, entertainment, cuisine etc.

An American tourist crawling through the Cu Chi tunnels, constructed by the Viet Cong Guerrilla forces during the Vietnam War, now a popular tourist destination

Mỹ Sơn: Ancient Champa Hindu temples in Central Vietnam

Throughout thousands of years, wars played a great role in shaping the identity and culture of people inhabited the land which is modern day Vietnam,

There are numerous historical sites from Ancient Vietnam to the First Indochina War and the Second Indochina War.

Most notable ancient sites include:

• Citadel of the Ho Dynasty
• Imperial City of Hue
• Mỹ Sơn

Most notable places from the First and Second Indochina War (Vietnam War) for tourists are:

• Củ Chi tunnels
• War Remnants Museum
• Vietnam Military History Museum
• Hoa Lo Prison[20]

Various tour groups, including Saigon Hotpot, Dana Dragon Free, and Hanoi Kids, offer free travel guides for foreign travelers.

While Vietnam is largely a safe country to travel, scams remain as a problem in the country. Vietnamese tourist industry, despite its successful expansion, has been marred with the issue of fake taxis, money switch, thieving. These concerns have hindered the opportunity to further boost Vietnam's tourism.[21]

Bãi Sao beach on Phú Quốc island

Hotel in Phú Quốc island

Travelling and tourism around the world have increased, mainly thanks to growling interest from China's middle hierarchy. Southeast Asia is an attractive tourist destination in recent years, which bolstered economic opportunities for countries located there. Vietnam benefited greatly from such a trend. The tourism demand right before the COVID pandemic was projected to grow yearly roughly by 4 per cent (2019–2029).[22] While the outlook will most likely not reach this target, we can expect a very volatile outcome that will most likely not be able to meet the estimated growth. Even then, in the year 2018, the Southeast Asia tourist destination had over 130 million international visitors.[23] (9.3 per cent of total global international visitor flows), and the region's share of the worldwide market is expected to expand further to 10.4 per cent by 2030 (or 187 million visitors).[24] At the same time, nobody can predict how the Chinese outbound travellers confidence in travelling will be affected. Before the pandemic, the Chinese outbound travellers had a growth of 21.7% annually between 2012 and 2017.[25]

Vietnam is a very popular tourist destination thanks to its diverse nature and culture. According to the World Economic forum's (WEF), Vietnam ranked 32nd globally in one of 120 countries with reference to its natural and folk sources and followed Indonesia and Thailand is among the Southeast Asia region in the latest 2017 Tourism Competitiveness Index. Vietnam can offer tourists a broad range of activities, starting from eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, various beautiful oceans and beaches. There are cities such as Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang that can offer fulfilling nightlife, shopping malls, and rich and diverse street food cuisine for urban lovers.

In addition, the Government of Vietnam is prioritizing tourism as a critical target to drive socio-economic development. The aim is to make Vietnam a top destination in Southeast Asia. To achieve the goal, the government is now preparing an innovative tourism strategy for the period 2018 to 2030 to spur the development of the tourism industry in the next decade. Many countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, focus on tourism development on their economic development plan. Vietnam had acquired a surge in domestic and international tourism in over ten years, thanks to its strategy of focusing on market segments where it has a competitive advantage. Specifically, the number of multinational tourists to Vietnam had approximately quadrupled from 4.2 million in 2008 to 15.5 million in 2018.[26] International arrivals increase to 25% from an average of around 9% per year, so travel transport industries such as airline and road also significantly increased. With domestic tourists, strong growth is what the government captures the growing demand for tourism in the region. For foreign tourists, the growth is more prominent than other rival countries in Southeast Asia, with the exception of Myanmar. As a result, Vietnam has been and is a bright spot on the world's tourist map, which is comparable to famous tourist countries in Asia such as Thailand, China, and Japan.

Despite these benefits, the tourism industry in Vietnam still has critical weaknesses in its relatively competitive aspect. The government's allocation of spending to the tourism sector is relatively low at 1.4% of total government spending in 2017. Although the tourism industry is strategically important, the vision for change in the tourism industry has not changed significantly. Indiscriminate disposal of waste, protection of marine life, forest animals, and environmental pollution are the issues that seriously affect this smokeless industry. Another major hurdle associated with foreign tourists is the visa regime. The government is still not open to the problem of visas as only 24 countries in the world are exempt from permits, which reduces the attraction of people to Vietnam [27]

However, the COVID-19 pandemic strongly affected Vietnam's tourism as all international commercial flights were banned from landing at all international airports in Vietnam. International tourists, the primary source of revenue for the tourism industry, have declined dramatically in the past year. The number of flights in October 2020 decreased by 80% compared to the same period last year. Hotel room capacity is only 30%. The inability of foreign tourists to come to Vietnam has a massive impact on the revenue of the tourism industry and the economy, as this group spends much more heavily than domestic tourists. In 2019, the tourism industry accounts for 12% of the country's GDP,[28] international visitors only 17% but more than half: on average, each foreign tourist spends US$673, while domestic tourists only spend US$61. The tourism industry created 660 thousand jobs in the period 2014–2019.[29] and the drop in tourist spending also brought the food, beverage and retail industries into a dire situation.

The government giving to the good control of the COVID-19 epidemic with the policy of "0 cases in the community" and also the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the country.[30] Domestic stimulus programs not only target Vietnamese but also foreigners living permanently in the country. Vietnam has attracted responses from travel companies, tourism businesses and from localities across the country. Tourism products aimed at human health, sports tourism, medical treatment, ecology, yoga, and nature-friendly tourism are becoming more and more attractive, so domestic tourists are getting more and more attractive. Now there are many options and at ease to travel.

• Visa policy of Vietnam
• List of museums in Vietnam

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vietnam.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Vietnam.

• Media related to Tourism in Vietnam at Wikimedia Commons