Vietnam ushers in digital era of tourism

On December 15, Vietnam reached major milestones in its tourism development welcoming its 20 millionth international visitor and launching its first national-level data platform dedicated exclusively to tourism.

Named “Visit Vietnam”, the platform is widely seen as the starting point for shaping the future of Vietnam’s tourism industry in the digital era.

Visit Vietnam is a government-endorsed platform developed in close coordination with the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) and the National Data Association. Sun Group is responsible for building and operating the technology infrastructure while Visa provides international payment data, spending behaviour analytics, and global security standards.

Designed as a unified data infrastructure, the platform simultaneously serves state management agencies, businesses, and travellers. A real-time tourism data map enables authorities to monitor destination capacity, regulate visitor flows, and identify operational risks at an early stage.

Beyond data aggregation, Visit Vietnam is also developed as an AI-powered travel assistant that accompanies visitors throughout their entire journey. It supports travellers in creating personalised itineraries; booking accommodation, sightseeing tickets, tours, and transport vehicles; managing all travel plans within a single interface; and accessing real-time destination information. It also issues alerts on crowding levels, weather conditions, or sudden changes at destinations, allowing travellers to make informed decisions at every step of their journey.

VNAT Deputy Director Pham Van Thuy said Visit Vietnam is not merely a data platform but a fundamental shift in development thinking. It reflects how Vietnam is preparing for a tourism future driven by data, digital technology, and artificial intelligence (AI). Its launch comes at a time when the entire country is accelerating digital transformation across all fields.

Over recent years, the VNAT has worked to build a smart tourism ecosystem based on a centralised, unified, and synchronised database system. The consistent policy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is to develop digital data systems as the foundation for smart tourism models, maximise value creation from data, and move towards a national tourism data ecosystem that is “accurate, sufficient, clean, live, unified, and shared.”

The year 2025 has marked a clear turning point for Vietnam’s tourism sector as “digital tourism” has moved beyond a trend and entered a phase of strong growth. The e-Conomy SEA 2025 report by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company identifies tourism as one of the key drivers of Vietnam’s economy. This vigorous growth stems from the steady recovery of international arrivals, the resilience of domestic tourism and, notably, the deeper integration of digital technology throughout the tourism value chain. Hotels, travel agencies, and transport operators have increasingly invested in digital infrastructure, including technology-enabled operations, digitised check-in and check-out processes, integrated digital payments to reduce costs and enhance customer experience, expanded digital marketing, and participation in online platforms to reach international customers more effectively.

However, challenges remain. Digital capacity gaps persist among tourism businesses, mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited resources for technology adoption. Vietnam also faces intensifying competition from regional destinations that are rapidly upgrading their digital infrastructure and tourism incentive policies. Moreover, digitalisation across the tourism service chain is still uneven.

Even in its early development phase, Visit Vietnam has already outlined a clear picture of the future: a platform capable of displaying the market’s “heartbeat” in real time, from visitor density at destinations and search trends to spending patterns across source markets. Such insights will help state agencies improve governance, forecasting, and reporting, while enabling businesses to optimise operations. As data becomes the structural foundation, Vietnam’s tourism sector will be better positioned to enhance competitiveness, attract higher-value visitor segments, and move closer to becoming a leading regional destination.

Boosting Vietnam’s unified image promotion on global stage

For businesses, Visit Vietnam serves as a centralised digital space where travel companies and service providers can access an official channel to connect with markets, deliver products to the right customer segments, and participate in a shared data ecosystem of the industry. It also offers a set of smart management tools that enable businesses to update products, manage services, track interest across customer segments, and analyse market demand at home and abroad.

At a more advanced data level, Visit Vietnam provides market analysis reports based on real-time data combined with Visa’s international payment data. These reports help businesses identify high-value markets, spending trends, seasonal fluctuations, and customer behaviour. This is the first time tourism enterprises in Vietnam have access to a standardised and continuously updated analytics tool.

Foreigners experience making "chung" cake to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Vietnam. (Photo: VNAT)

Doan Thi Thanh Tra, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist, noted that Visit Vietnam has been launched at an opportune moment as Vietnam intensifies efforts to expand its international market reach. Unlike traditional promotional campaigns organised periodically or seasonally, this platform enables continuous and long-term destination marketing, generating lasting and multiplier effects for Vietnam’s tourism promotion.

She added that the platform assists businesses to reach multiple market segments and source markets with a single and unified message. This consistency helps define the core values of Vietnam’s tourism brand while making it easier for international travellers to access reliable and official information about Vietnam.

Sharing the same view, Chairman of the Hanoi UNESCO Travel Club Truong Quoc Hung stressed that in the digital era, where data is considered a valuable resource, having standardised and centralised tourism data benefits not only state agencies and businesses but also Vietnamese citizens, who can download and use the platform to help promote the country’s image worldwide.

Cao Tri Dung, Chairman of the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents, emphasised that although Vietnam has made strong progress in smart tourism and smart destinations, it has long lacked an official national data platform for the sector. Visit Vietnam fills this critical gap by providing a trusted, unified data gateway connecting state agencies, localities, and businesses.

In a crowded digital landscape saturated with fragmented information, Visit Vietnam stands out as an official national platform and the most reliable data source for travellers seeking information, booking services, and experiencing Vietnam. It also offers businesses a cost-effective and direct channel to reach customers, reducing dependence on expensive international online travel agencies and advertising platforms./.