Strong start to the year

During the nine-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday 2026 alone, Vietnam’s tourism sector recorded impressive results, welcoming around 14 million visitors.

According to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, international arrivals during the Tet holiday continued to rise sharply in many localities.

The central city of Da Nang is estimated to have received 510,000 visitors, up 32%; Hue City 238,200, up 207%; Hanoi 217,000, up 55%; Ho Chi Minh City 170,000, up 51.7%; Khanh Hoa 120,000 staying guests, up 23.08%; and An Giang nearly 98,600, up 28.6% year-on-year.

Double-digit growth rates, and even triple-digit increases in some localities, reflect a recovery in both volume and quality of international tourist flows. This has been supported by more open visa policies, renewed tourism products, and stronger digital and direct promotion efforts by local authorities and businesses.

Flexible management and proactive market capture enabled many destinations to seize opportunities from the very first days of the year.

Pham Hai Quynh, Director of the Asia Tourism Development Institute, said the sector’s positive performance during Tet 2026 carries significant weight in shaping the tourism market for the entire year, particularly the international segment. The strong results also indicate that service quality and promotional activities have delivered results, laying an important foundation for sustainable growth.

The early-2026 market also shows clear shifts in consumption trends, helping the sector better grasp demand. Travelers are increasingly booking services through online platforms rather than relying entirely on traditional package tours. Personalized experiences, itineraries linked to cultural and historical values and local identity, and longer stays are becoming the dominant trend.

From a business perspective, Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of BestPrice Travel, said Tet 2026 recorded a preference for more in-depth travel experiences. The domestic market has seen a shift toward destinations offering resort spaces associated with nature, local culture and a slower pace of life, such as the Northwest, Northeast, the central region, or coastal resorts combined with culinary and local festival experiences.

Compared with previous years, travel demand during this year’s Lunar New Year has changed markedly. In addition to leisure and relaxation, visitors are seeking experiential activities such as joining traditional festivals, exploring local cuisine, experiencing agricultural and eco-tourism models, or light exploratory activities suitable for families.

Momentum for accelerated implementation of major targets

In 2026, the tourism sector targets 25 million international arrivals, 150 million domestic visitors and total revenue of around VND 1,125 trillion. Positive results from the first quarter carry particular significance, while reinforcing market confidence and encouraging localities and businesses to speed up  implementation plans.

Alongside the market recovery, the tourism sector’s organizational structure is being restructured toward greater streamlining and efficiency. The formation of new development spaces following the expansion of administrative boundaries is seen as an opportunity to build linked tourism regions, reduce fragmentation and enhance competitiveness at the regional level.

However, the global context continues to present challenges, including climate change, intense competition among destinations and rising requirements for sustainable development. The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism has identified continued focus on green tourism development, improving human resource quality, expanding promotion in new markets, and orienting growth toward higher value-added activities, innovation and comprehensive digital transformation.

A key requirement is to reorganize tourism development space under the new administrative boundaries in a systematic and scientific manner; review the allocation of resources, visitor flows, infrastructure and service chains in order to determine appropriate growth regions, tourism corridors and destination clusters. This offers an opportunity to form new growth poles, optimize investment resources and improve the efficiency of resource utilization.

At the same time, the sector is advising on the development of the project “Developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector in the new development era,” continuing implementation of the Vietnam Tourism System Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2045, and stepping up efforts to build and more clearly position the Vietnam tourism brand on the global map.

With the positive start to the year, the target of welcoming 25 million international visitors in 2026 is well grounded, paving the way for tourism to truly become a spearhead economic sector in the new development period.

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