As digital transformation has become an inevitable trend, data is no longer only information, but the “lifeblood” of the digital economy. The Politburo’s Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW (dated December 22, 2024) on breakthroughs in the development of science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation affirmed the need to enrich data, fully exploit its potential, turn data into a primary means of production, and promote the rapid development of big data, the data industry, and the data economy.

The Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2629/QD-TTg (dated December 1, 2025) approving the Programme for the Development of Digital Government also emphasised the need to develop data into a strategic resource. These strategic orientations show that data has been identified as the core “soft” infrastructure of national digital transformation and a foundational factor to improve management and governance efficiency, and sustainable development of economic sectors, including tourism.

In recent time, Viet Nam’s tourism sector has made significant progress in both quantity and quality. For the first time in the 65-year history of the tourism industry, the country welcomed more than 20 million international visitors and over 130 million domestic travellers, with total tourism revenue from visitors in 2025 exceeding 1 quadrillion VND.

This rapid growth rate and expanding scale require Viet Nam’s tourism industry to establish a unified and accurate data system to optimise operations, avoid the risk of “hot” development, and improve destination quality and competitiveness on the international arena.

Moreover, in the context of strong changes in tourist behaviour — searching for information on digital platforms, personalising experiences, and booking services via online travel agencies — approaching tourists through data and technology has become an urgent requirement.

However, it must be frankly acknowledged that for a long time, the tourism data of Viet Nam has largely been fragmented in many systems, lacking standardisation and connectivity among agencies, localities, and businesses, causing difficulties in monitoring, controlling, and forecasting trends.

As a result, tourism statistics of Viet Nam have often been inconsistent, while assessments of demand and changing travel preferences have relied heavily on international platforms.

To address this bottleneck, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 2710/QD-BVHTTDL (dated September 17, 2024) approving the project “Tourism industry database system”, which is aimed at building a comprehensive and unified tourism database system nationwide to serve state management of tourism, while also contributing to tourism promotion and marketing.

The project is implemented from 2024 to 2030. The tourism industry database system is defined to include component data on international and domestic travel enterprises; tourism accommodation facilities; tourism areas and accommodation facilities; tourism resources; tour guides; establishments providing catering, shopping, sports, entertainment services, and healthcare services meeting standards for serving tourists; as well as tourism promotion and tourism statistics.

Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Head of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, said that the authority has advised the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to issue the “Programme to promote smart tourism digital transformation in the tourism sector”, which emphasises the development of a digital data system as the foundation for building smart tourism models and strengthen the exploitation of added value from data. The programme aims to build a national tourism data ecosystem that ensures the “accurate, sufficient, clean, live, unified, and shared” factors.

These can be seen as strategic steps for Viet Nam to develop sustainable tourism and improve competitiveness in the context of digital transformation.

Recently, the launch of the national tourism data platform Visit Viet Nam marked an important progress step in building and operating Viet Nam’s tourism data ecosystem.

This is a platform sponsored by the government, with professional support from the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism and the National Data Association, developed and operated in terms of technological infrastructure by Sun Group, and supported by Visa, which provides international payment data, spending behaviour analysis models and security standards. This helps the system gradually approach smart tourism operational standards applied by many countries.

The key of Visit Viet Nam is a real-time tourism data map that allows management authorities to monitor destination capacity, regulate visitor flows, and soon identify operational risks. It helps businesses to update products, manage services, follow the level of interest of each customer segment, and assess market demand to approach domestic and international tourists. At the same time, it helps tourists look up official information, create personalised itineraries, book services, and receive alerts about weather, overcrowding situations, or changes at destinations.

According to Senior Colonel Ha Nam Trung, Deputy Head of the National Data Centre under the Ministry of Public Security, Visit Viet Nam not only marks the appearance of a new technological solution, but it is also the first step for Viet Nam’s tourism industry to shift towards data-based governance, creating long-term competitive capacity for the country.

When data is connected and shared transparently, Viet Nam’s tourism sector will have conditions to improve competitiveness, effectively access high-spending visitor segments, and approach closer a leading destination in the region. According to the roadmap, Visit Viet Nam will be officially operational in the second quarter of 2026.

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Travel Service Company, said that the launch of Visit Viet Nam at a time when the country is accelerating digital transformation will not only create short-term effectiveness, but also establish a continuous connection mechanism that generates added value over time. It will help domestic enterprises access diverse international market segments with a unified message and enable international partners and tourists to better understand the Vietnamese market.

Consistency of information will help enhance national tourism brand recognition, creating a long-term foundation for Viet Nam to position itself as a green, safe, and friendly tourism destination.