Vietnam aims to welcome eight million foreign arrivals by 2023

This information was unveiled as part of the draft report made to summarise operations of the tourism industry this year, as well as implementing tasks ahead for 2023.

The VNAT has set out plans for the tourism sector to improve infrastructure, develop smart tourism based on Industry 4.0 technology, and to boost rural tourism to achieve its goals.

Furthermore, the nation will also participate in major tourism events in countries such as Indonesia, Germany and the UK, thereby promoting the image of the country via major international media channels, as well as introducing local tourism in key markets, including ASEAN, Northeast Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, director general of the VNAT, assessed that the Vietnamese tourism sector is likely to face numerous difficulties next year due to key markets such as China and Russia not being fully opened, as well as inadequacies in terms of Vietnamese visa policies compared to other countries throughout the region.

Sharing this perspective, Nguyen Asia, director of Oxalis Adventure, the tour organiser of trips to Son Doong cave, underlined the need to classify their market, adding that if Northeast Asian markets such as China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea fully open, then Vietnam can welcome about 12 million international visitors ahead in 2023.

Accordingly, the group of tourists from the Northeast Asian region can reach eight million, while tourists from Europe, America, and Australia are likely to hit four million.

Vietnam is therefore anticipated to welcome 3.5 million international visitors this year, equivalent to about 70% of the set plan of five million and 101.3 million domestic arrivals, up 68.8% compared to the target.Indeed, total revenue from tourism looks set to reach VND495,000 billion, 23% higher than the set plan.