Vietnam has tremendous long-term potential to become a leading international destination like Thailand or Indonesia, according to local insiders.

Vietnam has the potential to turn itself into an international resort destination that can compete with tourism powerhouses like Thailand and Indonesia, an expert from Savills has said.

While many travel firms and hotels have gone bankrupt or are idle, others have been thriving thanks to new business strategies and creative products.

January started on a positive note, with city hotels seeing increased MICE and event bookings, while in some resorts corporate bookings started to return, according to Savills Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City recorded 1,800 visitors booking hotel rooms during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from February 9 to 17, the municipal Department of Tourism reported after summarising figures from 22 of the 124 local 3 to 5-star hotels.

Cityland Education (CE) and Switzerland’s famous hospitality management school École hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) recently inked a cooperation agreement at a ceremony which saw the attendance of Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Le Linh Lan.

The cultural event is a contribution from Vietnam to the international exhibition entitled ‘Hotel Beethoven’ to commemorate Beethoven’s 250 birthday anniversary.

The Vietnam’s first vacation exchange platform, VPASS, has been officially launched after a signing ceremony of strategic cooperation between VPASS and partner resorts nationwide.

VOV.VN - The resort town of Sa Pa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai received approximately 65,000 arrivals over three days during the New Year holiday, equivalent to 95% against last year’s figure and setting a record despite fears surrounding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Many hotel owners in Ho Chi Minh City have had to close down their hotels as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic although rents at the premises have been cut by up to 70%.