#tourism

At the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Hanoi, a robot receptionist has been greeting visitors on the ground floor since mid-June

The Enjoy Danang Festival 2026 features a rural market-themed culinary space at East Sea Park showcasing Quang region cuisine, a beachfront art route, a light kite night featuring around 500 illuminated kites, and a seaside light party combining visual arts, music and local cuisine.

Hue is simultaneously stepping up efforts to attract investment into tourism, services and cultural industries. In the first five months of 2026, the city secured more than 19 trillion VND in newly registered investment capital, with projects planned in coastal tourism, lagoon-based ecotourism, cultural spaces along the Perfume River, convention and exhibition centres, night-time economy projects and cultural innovation hubs.

As international arrivals surge and global travel trends shift toward safer, culture-focused destinations, Vietnam is positioning itself to move beyond budget tourism and compete through high-value experiences and service quality.

With its large scale, the ITE HCMC 2026 aims to promote tourism cooperation between Vietnam and priority markets such as Northeast Asia, Western Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and Oceania while also boosting visitor arrivals from the Indian market

Mui Ne’s appearance in global trend reports signals a new movement, where destinations can no longer rely solely on scenery but must tell their own stories and craft distinctive and personalised experiences.

Vietnam has in recent years undergone a notable transformation in its tourism development strategy, placing a strong emphasis on nature-based and eco-tourism. This shift is not merely aligned with global trends, but represents a necessary step towards safeguarding valuable natural resources, while appealing to a growing segment of environmentally conscious travellers.

China and the Republic of Korea (RoK) continued to lead as Vietnam’s largest source markets in the quarter, with 1.4 million and 1.3 million visitors respectively, accounting for around 40% of total arrivals.

Vietnam’s tourism sector continues to show resilience and a shift toward more sustainable growth, supported by steady demand and evolving travel preferences.

A notable new attraction is the Pho (rice noodle soup) Museum in Ben Thanh ward, which officially opened in mid-January. As the country’s first museum dedicated to culinary heritage, it is designed to preserve, develop and spread the values of Vietnamese cuisine to both domestic and international visitors.

Since the beginning of 2024, the central province of Thua Thien- Hue has welcomed more than 891,000 visitors, an increase of 40% year on year, of which, international arrivals are estimated at 447,000, a surge of 74% compared to the same period last year.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has stressed the need for higher determination, stronger efforts and more effective actions from ministries, sectors, localities and organisations to promote the growth of cultural industries, increasing their contributions to the country’s GDP by 2030.

PSNews - According to Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Municipal Department of Tourism, in the first half of 2023, the city's tourism sees threefold increase in international visitors compared to the same period in 2022. 

PSNews - According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam welcomed more than 5.5 million foreign arrivals in the first six months of the year, meeting 69% of the target (8 million) set for this year. 

Vietnam is becoming a popular tourist destination for US holidaymakers, with more than 215,000 Americans visiting the country last year, ranking second behind the Republic of Korea in terms of arrival number.

PSNews - The Vietnamese Government has resumed pre-pandemic procedures and processes on the issuance of visas and visa exemption certificate to foreigners and Vietnamese residing abroad since March 15, 2022, in line with the 2019 Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam and guideline documents.

PSNews - Nguyen Thanh Binh, Permanent Deputy Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee shared that, Hue Festival 2023 continues to show the spirit of innovation and diversify types of festival organization associated with local products and tourism products.

PSNews - Nguyen Van Ban, Director of the Ben Tre Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism informed that, in the past 3-day festival, the average room capacity of tourist accommodation establishments reached between 50-70%.

Sa Pa, a famous tourist destination in the north of Vietnam, welcomed nearly 42,000 visitors in the three-day New Year holiday, according to Hoang Thi Vuong, head of the Culture-Information Office of the town in Lao Cai province.

PSNews - Ho Chi Minh City expects to fully exploit bleisure travel - a novel type of tourism combining business travel with leisure time.