Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City fast becoming international tourist destinations

In order to meet the increasing demand of international tourists, 170 out of 350 rooms of the Intercontinental Landmark 72 in Hanoi has entered the market. Approximately 2,500 rooms in Hanoi are anticipated to enter the market beyond-2020 with a concentration in the luxury and midscale segments.

Meanwhile, over 3,600 rooms remain in the 2017-2020 pipeline with 450 rooms will be opened in HCMC by the end of 2017. Half of future room additions including those in Ascott Waterfront Saigon, Holiday Inn & Suites Saigon Airport, and Hilton Saigon which are expected to be launched within next two years are in the upscale segment. Two luxury projects scheduled to open in 2020 are the Okura Prestige Saigon and Ritz-Carlton Saigon.

In first seven months of this year, international visitor arrivals to Hanoi reached 2.7 million, 19 per cent higher than the same period of last year. Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) welcomed 2.8 international tourists in the first half of this year, registering a 14.7 per cent growth year-on-year. China, South Korea, Japan and some European countries like the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain continue Vietnam's top source markets.

More promotion programs in both cities are expected to provide an impetus for further growth in international visitor arrivals in 2017. Specifically, Hanoi has organized country and city-wide tourism promotion programs some of which are made under the corporation between Vietnam and CNN, launched new domestic and international flights as well as extended the visa waiver program for major European countries.

In HCMC, events including the promotion of its southern cuisine and Vietnamese traditional clothing(Ao Dai) has been held monthly. Vietnam has continued its cooperation with Japan with new flights connecting Hanoi, HCMC and Osaka by Vietnam Airlines starting from September this year. Additionally, HCMC’s Department of Tourism has also raised a proposal to extend the visa exemption period for international arrivals from Sweden, Denmark, Russia, South Korea, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain from 15 days to 30 days to boost the city’s tourist arrivals.

With an ongoing upgrading of museums and approval for a safari and Saigon Cultural and Tourism Village, the HCMC People’s Committee is developing a tourism development strategy through to 2030 and beyond to ensure sustainable tourism development. Meanwhile, Hanoi is looking to focus on high-quality tourism products and services by encouraging human resource training and local infrastructure improvement. The continual rise in occupancy levels is expected to support Hanoi’s hotel trading performance with arrivals recording upward momentum though upcoming supply might put pressure on hotel trading in the short to medium term.