According to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), the country welcomed more than 12.2 million international visitors in the first half of 2026, up 14.8% year on year and equal to 48.8% of the annual target. Domestic holidaymakers numbered 81 million, or 54% of the year's goal, while tourism revenue totalled 569 trillion VND (21.66 billion USD), achieving 50.5% of the annual plan.

While these figures highlight strong growth in visitor numbers and market size, Vietnam continues to lag behind many destinations in average length of stay, visitor spending and repeat international arrivals. Addressing these challenges requires a unified and reliable data system to optimise destination management, monitor carrying capacity, track changing travel behaviour and improve service quality and competitiveness. Vietnam already generates vast amounts of tourism-related data through immigration, aviation, transport, accommodation, e-commerce, payment and telecommunications systems. However, these datasets remain fragmented across ministries, localities and businesses, limiting their value and practical use.

To tackle this bottleneck, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed a national tourism data ecosystem based on a "1+34+N" model to ensure data is accurate, complete, clean, up-to-date, standardised and shared.

Under the framework, "1" refers to a national tourism data platform coordinated by the ministry, "34" represents databases of Vietnam's 34 provinces and cities, while "N" covers connected ministries, agencies, businesses and other organisations contributing and enriching the system.

The ministry's central platform will integrate local databases nationwide while expanding connectivity with government agencies and the private sector to create a continuously updated nationwide data network.

According to VNAT Vice Chairman Pham Van Thuy, digital transformation in tourism is no longer simply about adopting technology but about fundamentally restructuring management, business operations and visitor experiences. Within this vision, the national tourism database will serve as the digital backbone of the country's smart tourism ecosystem.

The "1+34+N" model aims to establish digital visitor profiles to strengthen forecasting, decision-making and real-time personalised services, enabling tourism authorities to shift from experience-based management to data-driven governance. During 2026-2027, the programme will focus on integrating fragmented data from ministries, localities and businesses into a core database. From 2027 onwards, the ministry plans to complete the shared platform while issuing common data standards and mechanisms for data sharing and utilisation, in line with the Party's and State's policies on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation. Vietnam's tourism sector has already developed some shared digital platforms linking government agencies, businesses, tour guides and travellers. These include the national tourism database, tourism statistical reporting system, Tourism Management and Business platform, a tourism operations dashboard providing real-time business, booking and financial data, the Vietnam Travel national tourism app, the Vietnam Card national tourism card, an integrated multi-modal e-ticketing system and multimedia audio guide services.

Hoang Quoc Hoa, Director of the Tourism Information Centre, said that adopting these shared digital platforms allows local authorities and businesses to reduce investment and training costs while improving data connectivity, eliminating fragmented systems and creating a more consistent management framework that enhances both business efficiency and visitor experience.

Thuy stressed that interoperability is the key. If every locality develops separate, disconnected systems, resources will be wasted and the sector will fail to achieve the benefits of an integrated digital ecosystem.

The VNAT therefore advocates a model in which the central government builds the platform, local authorities implement it, businesses utilise it and visitors ultimately benefit. It also stressed the need to modernise tourism promotion through digital tools, apply artificial intelligence to personalise marketing for different target markets, expand digital skills training for local authorities and businesses, and strengthen interoperability between central and local tourism information systems./. VNA