Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of VNAT (Photo: TITC)

Expressing her admiration for the strong recovery of Vietnam’s tourism, Ms. Hyemi Chung, Director of Sales and Distribution at Marriott International affirmed that Vietnam is becoming a globally attractive destination. Marriott currently operates 25 hotels in Vietnam and aims to double this number, with over 50 projects expected by the end of 2025. In 2024, the group opened new hotels in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Ha Giang.

Ms. Hyemi Chung, Director of Sales and Distribution at Marriott International speaking at the meeting (Photo: TITC)

Thanks to Vietnam’s tourism growth, international airlines are expanding flight networks connecting destinations across the globe to Vietnam. Recently, Emirates launched a direct flight route from Dubai to Da Nang, highlighting Vietnam’s appeal to international markets.

Appreciating Vietnam’s tourism potential, Ms. Hyemi Chung proposed cooperation in areas such as joint marketing campaigns, MICE tourism development, source market promotion, and digital transformation support in the accommodation sector. She expressed Marriott’s desire to accompany VNAT in destination promotion and fam trips. “We believe that with close cooperation, we can develop effective promotional programmes to attract more tourists to Vietnam and enhance the country’s image internationally,” said Ms. Chung.

Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh stated that Vietnam is one of the fastest-recovering destinations in ASEAN post-pandemic, receiving 17.6 million international visitor arrivals in 2024 and 9.2 million in the first five months of 2025. Vietnam currently has 635 four-star and five-star hotels, providing a strong foundation for high-end tourism, particularly MICE tourism.

Overview of the meeting (Photo: TITC)

Regarding source markets, Vietnam continues to see high numbers of visitors from Northeast and Southeast Asia, especially traditional markets such as South Korea, China, Japan, and Taiwan (China). The U.S. and European markets are also considered potential, and in recent years, Vietnam has expanded into emerging markets like India and the Middle East. VNAT is actively promoting tourism in these regions, including specialized offerings such as Halal tourism for Muslim travellers. According to VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh, VNAT is planning roadshows to promote Vietnam tourism in several Middle Eastern countries in the coming time.

Regarding types of tourism, in addition to its strengths in beach tourism, natural tourism, cultural tourism, and city-break tourism, Vietnam is also keeping pace with global trends by developing MICE, golf, wellness, sports, and culinary tourism. Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh expressed hope that Marriott International would collaborate with VNAT to further develop MICE tourism in Vietnam.

Vietnam’s tourism development efforts have been recognized internationally with prestigious awards such as Asia’s Leading Destination, World’s Leading Heritage Destination, World’s Best Golf Destination...

Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh gifting souvenir to Ms. Hyemi Chung (Photo: TITC)

Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh emphasized the importance of digital media and digital transformation in tourism. He said the Tourism Information Technology Center under VNAT is assigned as the focal point for implementing digital communication and digital transformation in tourism industry in alignment with government directions toward a digital economy and society.

Leaders from both sides taking souvenir photo (Photo: TITC)

The Chairman expressed his desire for Marriott International to support digital transformation initiatives in accommodation and tourism enterprises in Vietnam; assist in welcoming international famtrip and presstrip delegations to explore Vietnam tourism; and support VNAT in promoting Vietnam’s image through digital platforms and international tourism events, travel expo, and tourism stimulus programmes in 2025, as well as in training high-quality tourism human resources.

The meeting between VNAT and Marriott International marks an important step in fostering public-private partnerships to jointly implement tourism promotion, digital transformation, and enhance Vietnam’s presence on the global tourism map.

Tourism Information Technology Center