On December 20, in Hue City, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) held a conference to summarize the Project "Restructuring the tourism industry to meet the requirements of developing into a spearhead economic sector" and summarizing phase 1 of the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh - Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said that in the period of 2020 - 2025, the tourism industry was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic but has recovered strongly thanks to the strong direction of the Government and the participation of ministries, branches, localities and businesses.
In 2024, Vietnam welcomed 17.6 million international visitors, reaching 98% compared to 2019, among the highest recovery groups in Southeast Asia. It is expected that in 2025, the number of international visitors will reach about 22 million, domestic visitors will reach about 140 million, with total tourism revenue exceeding 1 million billion VND.
In addition to growth results, the tourism industry has recorded many positive changes in institutions, visa policies, markets and products; synchronously invested infrastructure, gradually promoted digital transformation, and human resources gradually recovered.
However, the tourism industry still has some limitations such as uneven product quality, regional linkages that are not commensurate with potential, digital transformation that has not gone into depth, spending and the rate of returning visitors are still low, the tourism environment at some destinations is not yet civilized.
The conference determined that the period of 2026 - 2030 is the key time for Vietnam tourism to accelerate and make a breakthrough. Delegates proposed many key solutions such as perfecting institutions, restructuring markets and products, investing in infrastructure, promoting digital transformation, improving the quality of human resources and building a safe and friendly tourism environment.
