Increase in travelers to Vietnam entices hospitality investments
Vietnam saw a record number of international arrivals in 2016 with more than ten million visitors and a 25-per cent increase over the previous year – and 2017 is already on track to surpass that. During the first six months of the year, Vietnam recorded more than six million international arrivals, a 30-per cent increase over the same period a year earlier.
With regards to last month, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism counted 1,036,880 international visitors in July, representing an increase of 21.1 per cent over the same month last year. China was the top supply market with 329,319 visits, improving 24.8 per cent. Other top performers were South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and the US, while Thailand slipped off the top ten list, recording 17,960 visits with just a marginal 0.5-per cent increase over the same month last year.
Much of the overall tourism growth can be attributed to the government’s renewed focus on developing the tourism industry. Somewhat onerous visa regulations were changed in 2015, and now tourists from a range of European and Asian countries can visit Vietnam for up to two weeks without needing to obtain a visa at all.
Beyond that, the government is investing more in tourism marketing and promotion as part of a goal for the industry to account for ten per cent of GDP in 2020, up from 6.6 per cent in 2016. In the medium term, Vietnam is targeting 17 to 20 million international tourists and 82 million domestic tourists by 2020.
International hospitality players are increasingly looking to Vietnam for opportunities to expand, and hospitality investment is centered now primarily around two tourism hot spots, namely along the coastlines in central Vietnam and on the southern island of Phu Quoc. Nearly five dozen new hotels are set to open over the next three years in both regions.
Among the currently largest investment is the $4-billion HOIANA tourism development south of the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An in central Vietnam. The project is a partnership between Vietnamese property conglomerate VinaCapital and Gold Yield Enterprises Ltd., a joint venture between the Suncity Group of Macau and a private investor from Hong Kong.
Other hospitality investors in Vietnam are mainly from Japan and South Korea.
Vietnam saw a record number of international arrivals in 2016 with more than ten million visitors and a 25-per cent increase over the previous year – and 2017 is already on track to surpass that. During the first six months of the year, Vietnam recorded more than six million international arrivals, a 30-per cent increase over the same period a year earlier. With regards to last month, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism counted 1,036,880 international visitors in July, representing an increase of 21.1 per cent over the same month last year. China was the top supply market with 329,319...
Vietnam saw a record number of international arrivals in 2016 with more than ten million visitors and a 25-per cent increase over the previous year – and 2017 is already on track to surpass that. During the first six months of the year, Vietnam recorded more than six million international arrivals, a 30-per cent increase over the same period a year earlier.
With regards to last month, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism counted 1,036,880 international visitors in July, representing an increase of 21.1 per cent over the same month last year. China was the top supply market with 329,319 visits, improving 24.8 per cent. Other top performers were South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and the US, while Thailand slipped off the top ten list, recording 17,960 visits with just a marginal 0.5-per cent increase over the same month last year.
Much of the overall tourism growth can be attributed to the government’s renewed focus on developing the tourism industry. Somewhat onerous visa regulations were changed in 2015, and now tourists from a range of European and Asian countries can visit Vietnam for up to two weeks without needing to obtain a visa at all.
Beyond that, the government is investing more in tourism marketing and promotion as part of a goal for the industry to account for ten per cent of GDP in 2020, up from 6.6 per cent in 2016. In the medium term, Vietnam is targeting 17 to 20 million international tourists and 82 million domestic tourists by 2020.
International hospitality players are increasingly looking to Vietnam for opportunities to expand, and hospitality investment is centered now primarily around two tourism hot spots, namely along the coastlines in central Vietnam and on the southern island of Phu Quoc. Nearly five dozen new hotels are set to open over the next three years in both regions.
Among the currently largest investment is the $4-billion HOIANA tourism development south of the historic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An in central Vietnam. The project is a partnership between Vietnamese property conglomerate VinaCapital and Gold Yield Enterprises Ltd., a joint venture between the Suncity Group of Macau and a private investor from Hong Kong.
Other hospitality investors in Vietnam are mainly from Japan and South Korea.
