Yet even with that momentum, industry leaders and experts said chronic bottlenecks at local and corporate levels keep dragging on progress. The core question is how to clear those structural blockages so tourism can genuinely accelerate.

Closing the spending gap

Industry officials said advances in sci-tech, innovation and digital transformation are already wrenching tourism away from a bulk-volume model toward one built on data, customised experiences and smart governance. Deeper global integration is further widening market access, tightening value chain links and sharpening Vietnam’s destination brand.

At the same time, pro-private sector policies are clearing a path for strategic investors and large-scale resort, entertainment and cultural complexes with genuine market-shaping heft. The pairing of tourism with culture, cultural industries, heritage economy and national soft power is also seen as a rich seam of untapped potential.

Key policy foundations rests on the Politburo’s Resolution 80-NQ/TW on developing Vietnamese culture, Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in sci-tech, innovation and national digital transformation, and Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private sector development.

On the business front, Chairman of Vietravel Holdings Nguyen Quoc Ky said the sector is still tripped up by insufficiently bold policies, absent investment incentives, weak links in transport infrastructure, seaports and tourism logistics, and limited overseas promotion caused by shoestring resources and a lack of professional international marketing networks.

Nguyen Trung Ngoc, Director of the Tuyen Quang provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the ongoing shift from headcount growth to quality-led development is the right call.

Even so, he flagged that while Vietnam hauls in tens of millions of international arrivals, visitor spending stays relatively low, capping economic returns. “The gap is there because Vietnam still doesn’t have compelling enough products that make tourists willing to spend more”, he said.

Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong said the ministry is racing to complete a review of Resolution 08-NQ/TW on turning tourism into a pillar industry. That will be the basis for proposing a new Politburo resolution to build a stronger legal framework so tourism can operate as a genuine spearhead economic sector.

Experience over scenery

Affirming tourism as a cross-cutting economic sector with deep inter-regional and inter-sectoral links tied to cultural creativity and national soft power, industry leaders, local officials and businesses agreed that sustainable growth in the next phase demands comprehensive and methodical planning.

The focus must now pivot toward depth, experiential value, distinctiveness and cultural identity as the core groundwork for competitiveness.

At a hybrid conference convened by the ministry on May 14, Director of the Hue city Department of Tourism Tran Thi Hoai Tram proposed introducing special mechanisms for heritage cities to better preserve and effectively tap heritage values for tourism-driven economic growth.

On hard infrastructure, she stressed that big-ticket tourism projects like international airports, expressways, tourism ports and yacht marinas need priority. She also called for expanding Vietnam’s overseas tourism promotion offices in key source markets to crank up destination marketing and national branding.

Ngoc echoed the demand for stronger coordination and support from central authorities in local tourism development, pushing for mechanisms that unlock resources, digital transformation, innovation, workforce training and infrastructure to fuel sustainable growth in high-potential destinations.

Representatives from several firms and local tourism departments also urged speeding up a national tourism database to strengthen management, forecasting and policymaking. They further pressed for the removal of regulatory barriers around operating hours and cultural activities after 22:00 to give the nighttime economy room to run./.

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