13 million foreigners chose Vietnam as their holiday destination in 2017.
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Local tourism accommodation has been developed, surpassing 25,000 establishments with more than 500,000 rooms. There are now 116 five-star hotels with over 33,000 rooms, 259 four-star hotels, and 488 three-star hotels nationwide.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) reported that the tourism sector successfully fulfilled the target of 30-percent rise in the number of foreign visitors.
While promotion activities have been enhanced and reformed, the sector has also attracted much social investment in tourism, especially the high-end segment. Many localities have made efforts to attract investment in tourism and develop tourism products. Vietnam has also won a number of tourism awards and titles in 2017, which helped promote the country’s image during integration into the world, the ministry noted.
The MCST also admitted certain shortcomings in the industry, including limited services at some tourism areas, low competitiveness, a shortage of strong tourism brand names, and flaws in ensuring security and safety for tourists at some places of interest.
On January 16, 2017, the Politburo issued Resolution No8 on developing tourism into a spearhead economic industry. This landmark in the 57-year development history of the tourism sector lays a foundation for the making of legal framework and policies, removing difficulties and obstacles, and mobilizing social sources to lift Vietnam tourism into a new height.
Besides, to further attract foreign tourists, the Government adopted a Resolution on exempting visas for visitors from five Western European countries and a decree on granting e-visas for foreigners entering Vietnam. In addition, tourism promotion activities have been enhanced through the organisation and participation in domestic and international travel fairs such as VITM Hanoi, Travex in Singapore, ITB in Germany, MITT in Russia, TTM Plus in Thailand, Kofta in South Korea.
According to latest statistics of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)Vietnam ranks first in Asia and sixth among ten countries with the world’s fastest growing tourist destinations for 2017.
Vietnam tourism has been promoted through diverse activities carried out after the movie “Kong: Skull Island” is screened. Film director Jordan Vogt Robert is named Honorary Tourism Ambassador in the US and UK. According to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), Vietnam jumps 8 grades from 75th out of 141 countries in 2015 to 67th out of 136 countries in 2017 Report. In 2018, Vietnam aims to receive 15.5 million foreign visitors and serve 78 domestic tourists with total earnings of more than VND620 trillion.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism appoints Lee Chang Kun (Ly Xuong Can in Vietnamese) as Tourism Ambassador of Vietnam for the 2017-2020 tenure. Ly Xuong Can is the 31st generation descendant of King Ly Thai To (974-1028). He was born in the Republic of Korea and naturalized in Vietnam in 2010.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the State steering committee for tourism, applauded the 30-percent increase in the foreign tourist number, noting that more attention should be paid to quality.
He asked the tourism sector to improve products, accommodation facilities, manpower, as well as museum and theme parks, while devising appropriate strategies and plans. It must successfully carry out the plan on restructuring the tourism sector so as to develop tourism into a spearhead economic industry.
