Vietnam has revealed a tourism target of 23 million international visitors in 2025, with plans to continue to use visa conditions, air connectivity and destination marketing to boost the sector, create jobs and increase its contribution to the Southeast Asian country’s economy.
Tran Phong Binh, deputy director of the tourism marketing department at the National Authority of Tourism told delegates at the ASEAN Tourism Forum that the 2025 target would be a 31% increase from the more than 17 million foreign arrivals in 2024, who brought in about US$30billion in tourism revenues.
Behind its competitors
It is perhaps a modest target given that the 2024 arrival figures represent a 41% year-on-year hike compared to 2023. Nonetheless, it would represent a significant recovery for a nation that is currently only just in line with pre-Covid benchmark figures and playing catch-up with its neighbours.
Vietnam wants to achieve 160 million domestic tourists and 35 million international visitors by 2030, but that would only equal Thailand’s 2024 figures. Tourism represented just 7% of Vietnamese GDP in 2023 and 8% in 2024, below the worldwide average of 10.3%, and far behind Thailand (23%), the Philippines (22.5%), and Cambodia (25.8%).
How to drive growth?
Still, the Vietnamese want to increase tourism’s GDP contribution to 13% and through that generate over 10 million jobs. With experts blaming the policy climate for the lag, authorities will be scrutinising international markets for growth opportunities. Asia is far and away the biggest source of international guests, accounting for 79.6%. Europe sent over 11.3%, while the Americas and Oceania provided 5.7% and 3,1% respectively. Africa currently only sends less than 0.3%.
Starting where things are already going well, the Vietnamese will be seeking to attract more South East Asian travellers, and those from China, Japan, and South Korea. India, the Middle East and North America are also key targets, according to FTNnews.
Raising the profile of Vietnamese attractions
Part of the trick will be better marketing for Vietnam’s many treasures, from the central, UNESCO-recognised province of Thua Thien Hue through the Visit Vietnam Year, to the Danang International Fireworks Festival in early summer, or the curiosity that is the world’s largest cave (the 9km long, 200m high Son Doong).
Authorities are also likely to look closely at the state of Vietnam’s visa-free entry and waiver policies. It offers unreciprocated visa waivers for 45-day stays to only 13 countries at the moment. Compare that to China, which has sought to boost tourism with 38 countries offering visa-free entry since 2023 and a relaxation of other rules around transit visits (for 54 nations), as well as for cruise ship passengers, for example. It has been a successful opening up. According to China’s National Immigration Administration data, in the first half of 2024, a total of 14.6 million foreign nationals entered China through ports across the country, reflecting a 152.7% year-on-year increase. Vietnam would love a piece of that action.
