First foreign visitors arrive in Vietnam in new normal

In recent years, Ta Xua, dubbed "the paradise of clouds", has emerged as one of the mountainous destinations attracting strong interest from young travellers, particularly for its spectacular sea of clouds stretching across the mountains in the northwestern region.

Training local young people in filming, audio recording, digital storytelling, data preservation and responsible use of AI can help build a new generation of cultural custodians. This, in turn, can help transform cultural heritage into a resource for economic development while contributing to the country’s broader development.

The exhibits are presented as historical and legal materials proving Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in the East Sea.

With growing recognition of indigenous knowledge, customs and cultural values as unique assets, ethnic communities in the northern mountainous region are shifting from simply providing tourism services to becoming creators and owners of tourism products, confidently telling their own cultural stories

When local people remain the custodians of their resources, tourism can become a reason for them to stay, maintain their livelihoods, and renew community value rather than replacing it.

Alongside the RoK, Da Nang has stepped up tourism promotion in India, Japan, China, Russia and CIS countries, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Jonathan Wallace Baker, UNESCO Representative to Vietnam, noted that the official proclamation of the 2027–2036 period as the "International Decade of Culture for Sustainable Development" comes at a particularly important moment. As the international community works to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda while beginning to consider what comes after 2030, the Decade provides a ten-year framework to strengthen the place of culture in development.

Under Resolution 80-NQ/TW, dated January 7, 2026, November 24 was designated Vietnam Culture Day, to be observed annually. The occasion aims to give the public opportunities to participate in, create and enjoy cultural activities, helping spread positive values and foster pride in Vietnamese culture.

"Vietnam is part of my life," affirmed Patricia Abarzua Munoz, emphasising that the friendship between the Chilean and Vietnamese peoples is built on shared values and mutual respect.

For the MICE tourism sector in both Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, growth can no longer be driven merely by increasing the number of events; instead, the focus must shift to enhancing the value of each event and the competitiveness of each destination.

Women’s football movements in local communities have been quietly growing, but they’ve now built up enough momentum to inspire organisers to launch the first Vietnam Ethnic Minority Women’s Football – VTV Cup in 2026.

For 2026, Vietnam's tourism sector is targeting 25 million foreign arrivals, 150 million domestic trips and total revenue of 1.125 quadrillion VND (43 billion USD).

Vietnamese film Quan Ky Nam (Ky Nam Inn) has won several awards at the 25th Imagine India International Film Festival (IIIFF) in Madrid, including Best Director.

According to the magazine, boat trips into Phong Nha Cave and strolls through Paradise Cave (both family-friendly) offer a tantalising glimpse of their astonishing scale, but the real adventure lies deeper within the park, where cavers wade through underground rivers and weave among stalagmites.

Tourism effectiveness should be measured not only by visitor numbers and revenue, but also by spending, length of stay, repeat visits, job quality, visitor satisfaction and environmental carrying capacity, said experts.

The National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Finance reported that Vietnam welcomed nearly 2 million international visitors in August, up 19.7% from July and 18.4% year-on-year. The figure represented 63.6% of the tourism sector’s full-year target of 25 million arrivals.

For the Mong people in Ta Dung, Dak R’mang is not merely a weekly rendezvous, but a space preserving memories of their northwestern hometowns and cultural identity in their new land.

Ngo Phuong Ly, the spouse of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam, said the two countries share similarities in silk weaving and can enrich their cultural heritage through exchanges and experience sharing.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said on late September 2 that the southern metropolis welcomed an estimated 1.65 million domestic visitors and 62,000 foreign tourists over the break.