Illustrative photo. (Photo: K.T)

According to the annual report of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism currently accounts for more than 10% of global GDP. In Viet Nam, tourism is also considered a spearhead economic sector with strong development, contributing to shaping the economic landscape and serving as a bridge connecting Vietnamese culture with the world.

Information from the National Authority of Tourism shows that in the first seven months of 2025, Viet Nam welcomed 12.2 million international arrivals, equivalent to 48.9% of the year’s target. In August 2025 alone, the number of international visitors to Viet Nam increased by 7.8% compared to the previous month. Although it was still the low season for international travel, the positive growth over the past eight months indicates encouraging signs for the inbound tourism market. In total, international arrivals in the first eight months of 2025 reached nearly 14 million, up 21.7% compared to the same period in 2024. Major markets recorded good growth, including China, Japan and India.

After the pandemic, Viet Nam has been undergoing strong transformations. The administrative reorganisation taking effect on July 1, 2025, has also created new momentum and conditions for localities, requiring the tourism sector to devise development strategies commensurate with this new position.

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong, the key solutions include: policies, products, linkages, promotion, and focus on target markets. Recently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the National Authority of Tourism, has coordinated with ministries and sectors to propose expanded visa and entry-exit policies to make them more open and convenient. The latest measures include visa exemptions for 12 European countries under the tourism stimulus programme, as well as visa waivers for celebrities entering Viet Nam to serve socio-economic development.

In addition, recently the tourism sector has begun focusing on developing and building products to enhance destination appeal. Businesses constantly innovate, create, and adapt to market changes, while also promoting multi-dimensional linkages between enterprises as well as with localities.

To overcome fragmentation and small scale, while enhancing destination appeal and the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism, Deputy Minister Ho An Phong stated that in the future, businesses need to cooperate and join forces in building integrated tourism service value chains (accommodation, travel, aviation, entertainment, and more) that are high in quality yet reasonably priced, in order to stimulate tourism demand during the most important period towards the end of the year.

To achieve this, the role of functional agencies, tourism associations, as well as leading corporations and enterprises in guiding, gathering and connecting participating businesses is crucial. Recently, the National Authority of Tourism and the Viet Nam Railways Corporation signed a cooperation programme for developing railway tourism, opening up opportunities to exploit a new and increasingly popular form of tourism—one of the practical activities directly stimulating tourism development.

Furthermore, for Viet Nam’s tourism to complete its 2025 plan, it is necessary to strengthen measures for promotion and marketing tailored to specific markets. The National Authority of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are responsible for overall promotion of the national tourism image. At the same time, localities and businesses need to be more proactive in participating in joint programmes to introduce their destinations, products and services. In particular, attention should be paid to promoting potential markets: Northeast Asia and ASEAN, China, and the Republic of Korea.

To make tourism promotion truly effective, it is also necessary to innovate methods of operation. Recently, the development of tourism promotion programmes through cinema in Hollywood (the US), the Cannes Film Festival (France), and the Bollywood film Love in Vietnam (India) has been typical examples, creating resonance and generating positive results in tourism development.

To achieve the target of welcoming 25 million international visitors in 2025, Viet Nam’s tourism sector needs a comprehensive strategy, closely combining solutions in policies, products, linkages, promotion and effective exploitation of key markets. The overall efforts and synergies of state agencies, businesses and localities will be the decisive factor in the success of Viet Nam’s tourism goals for 2025.