Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) and Hyatt are among scores of US hotel operators looking for opportunity in Vietnam, which has increasingly become a notable tourist destination, CNBC reported. 

Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian told CNBC at the NYU Hospitality Conference in New York this week he always pays attention to the trend foreigners going into a country and buying real estate.

There has been a surge in real estate acquisitions in Vietnam’s resort destinations, Hoplamazian added, saying a lot of people from China, South Korea, even Japan are buying resort properties in Vietnam, which is considered a sign of an attractive market.

Tourist arrivals to Vietnam have risen since 2000 and have surged since 2015, reaching a record high of 15 million in 2018, revealed HSBC in its latest report.

The number of tourist arrivals has also risen, doubling from 7.5 million to 15 million over the last six years. Not surprisingly, more tourists have brought more revenue to the country. Tourism receipts accelerated in the past decade, generating US$27 billion in 2018, equivalent to 11% of the GDP.

The continuation of strong tourism growth will bring many benefits to the economy, suggested HSBC. More tourist receipts will provide further foreign exchange inflows and reduce Vietnam’s services deficit in the balance of payments. Moreover, it will provide a broader array of employment opportunities, and crucially, it will help further diversify the Vietnamese growth story.

Vietnam has become a bigger focus for manufacturing, as well, with more U.S. companies looking to decouple from China in light of tariffs. Hanoitimes

Ngoc Mai