This is evidenced not only through the increasing number of visitors to Viet Nam each year, but also through a series of prestigious international awards, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with Viet Nam being one of the most successful countries at containing the disease.

From “popular” votes to prestigious awards

In 2014, the US-based magazine Elite Daily ranked Viet Nam as one of the 10 cheapest countries to travel on just US$20 per day.

In 2017, Forbes selected 33 most memorable destinations of the year based on assessments of the world’s leading travel journalists.

At that time, Marybeth Bond, a reporter of National Geographic, voted for Viet Nam and spoke highly of the experiences such as kayaking in Ha Long City (Quang Ninh), walking around Hoi An Ancient Town (Quang Nam), and enjoying street food.

It is still a Viet Nam with the image of tourism products based on existing backgrounds and popular experiences in a “hidden” country. 2019 marked a turning point for the Vietnamese tourism sector with successive miracles at international tourism awards.

Viet Nam picked up awards in four categories at the 26th Annual World Travel Awards, including “Top Destinations in Asia 2019”, “Top Gastronomic Destinations in Asia 2019”, “Top Cultural Destinations in Asia 2019”, “Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2019”.

In addition, Viet Nam was also named as the “World’s Leading Heritage Destination 2019” and “World’s Best Golf Destination 2019”.

In 2020, Travelers’ Choice Awards 2020, launched by US-based travel planning and booking site TripAdvisor, also honored Viet Nam in many areas.

The hotel category saw three Vietnamese representatives, namely Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa, La Siesta Hoi An Resort & Spa and JM Marvel Hotel & Spa.  (Phu Quoc, Kien Giang). also enrolled in Viet Nam in many fields.

In the category of the 25 best hotels in the world, Viet Nam has three representatives: Hanoi La Siesta, La Siesta Hoi An and JM Marvel.

Kien Giang Province’s Phu Quoc Island ranked seventh among the top 10 emerging destinations. Meanwhile, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City ranked seventh and 12th among the 25 trending destinations in the world.

“Must come once in a lifetime”

In 2019, Golden Bridge (Sun World Ba Na Hills - Da Nang) was listed among the top 100 most wonderful destinations in the world by the US-based Time magazine.

Bai Khem beach (South Phu Quoc) was voted by 1,200 international travel experts of Flight Network, the biggest travel network in Canada, to be among the world’s 100 most beautiful beaches.

In addition, the Hoang Lien Son Range with Guinness-recognized Fansipan Sapa cable cars, was honored in the list of 28 most attractive destinations in the world by National Geographic. The capital of Ha Noi was ranked 15th out of 25 best places to travel in the world in 2019.

In 2020, the world tourism industry has confronted multiple difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Standards of tourists have also gradually changed.

Ocean House President and Group Managing Director Daniel Hostettler said: “In the past, luxury travel meant just good experiences and perfect service quality. But now, the criteria of reliability and safety must also be included”.

With remarkable achievements in controlling the pandemic and internationally recognized quality products, Viet Nam is seizing superior advantages to move towards new heights and promote the tourism sector towards such new sustainability.