Towards more effective tourism promotion

New models and approaches emerge

Viet Nam's tourism sector has recently recorded a series of positive developments. According to the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism, the country welcomed approximately 17.7 million international visitors in the first nine months of 2026, up 14.5% year on year and equivalent to 70.7% of the annual target.

Domestic tourist arrivals were estimated at 126 million, an increase of 5.8%, reaching 84% of the yearly target. Total tourism revenue was estimated at 874 trillion VND, up 10% compared with the same period in 2025.

Notably, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2026 report, released in late September, Viet Nam ranked second globally in terms of improvement in its TTDI score. More recently, at the 2026 World Travel Awards, Viet Nam was named "Asia's Leading Destination" for the eighth time and "Asia's Leading Heritage Destination" for the fourth time.

These achievements demonstrate the growing appeal of Vietnamese tourism and the increasingly strong recognition of the country's tourism brand. Alongside efforts to diversify tourism products, improve infrastructure, introduce more favourable visa policies and strengthen service capacity, tourism promotion and marketing have played an important role in these results.

In recent years, the tourism industry has stepped up efforts to attract visitors through new promotional models and approaches, including appointing tourism ambassadors, promoting destinations through cinema and developing a digital tourism marketing ecosystem. Numerous promotional campaigns have been launched in high-potential markets such as Japan, India, Russia, Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), featuring tourism fairs, international cultural and culinary festivals, and other events.

However, amid intensifying global competition among destinations and constantly changing traveller preferences, tourism promotion should no longer focus solely on expanding brand awareness. Instead, it needs to adopt a more targeted approach, linking specific markets with suitable tourism products and clearly identified distribution partners, thereby translating promotional efforts into actual bookings and revenue.

Strengthening cooperation in tourism promotion

Despite recent improvements in Viet Nam's tourism promotion and marketing, coordination between central and local authorities and the business community has at times remained insufficient.

Furthermore, funding for promotional activities remains limited and lacks the stability and long-term commitment needed to sustain effective campaigns. As a result, the scale, reach and professionalism of tourism marketing initiatives have not always met expectations, while the country's tourism image has lacked consistency.

Against this backdrop, the Politburo's Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector in the new era emphasises the need to establish a national tourism promotion programme with a consistent and professional message.

The resolution calls for tourism promotion to be closely linked with efforts to promote the country's image, investment environment, trade opportunities, cultural identity, heritage and people.

It also stresses the State's role in coordinating national destination marketing campaigns and working alongside major enterprises in international tourism promotion.

According to Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of Vietravel's Board of Directors, Viet Nam boasts numerous attractive destinations but has yet to establish a national tourism brand with sufficiently strong recognition in international markets. He argued that the country needs to move beyond promoting individual destinations towards building a consistent, modern and emotionally engaging national tourism brand.

Achieving this requires national tourism promotion to be implemented over the long term, with continuity and clear priorities, bringing together the State, local authorities and major businesses under a common strategy.

In the digital era, Viet Nam's tourism sector must also transform its marketing approach. Alongside traditional promotional methods, the industry needs to harness data, artificial intelligence, digital platforms, content creators and international partner networks to reach the right markets and customer segments.

To make tourism promotion more effective, Dr Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Institute for Tourism Economics, suggested that Viet Nam develop a priority market strategy for the 2026–2030 period. This should identify key short-term markets, markets for expansion and those requiring longer-term preparation.

For each market, the country needs tailored messages, flagship products, distribution partners, promotional plans and performance indicators. Tourism promotion should shift from general publicity towards a results-oriented model with measurable conversion targets.

Such an approach should include lists of prospective partners, business-matching schedules, tourism products with indicative prices, multilingual promotional materials, plans for developing air routes and mechanisms for evaluating effectiveness.

Particular attention should be paid to follow-up activities after promotional events. Following each tourism fair, roadshow, familiarisation trip or forum, organisers should establish contact lists, identify relevant product groups, schedule follow-up meetings and assign clear responsibilities. This would help avoid situations in which promotional campaigns generate interest but potential visitors cannot find suitable products to book, or tourism businesses lack the capacity to serve the markets being targeted.

From the perspective of linking aviation connectivity with tourism market development, Dang Quoc Thang, Head of Vietnam Airlines' Quy Nhon Branch, stressed the need for a regular coordination mechanism involving management agencies, airlines, travel businesses and local authorities. Such coordination would support the selection of target markets and the assessment of promotional effectiveness.

He suggested prioritising promotional resources for markets with the potential to support direct air routes and emerging markets offering strong growth prospects, thereby generating wider benefits for tourism development.

Public-private partnership models should also be encouraged in international tourism promotion. When tourism promotion and marketing form part of a well-structured destination development strategy, their effectiveness extends beyond raising awareness to expanding and connecting markets, generating tangible and sustainable growth for Viet Nam's tourism industry.