Vietnam is looking beyond visitor numbers as tourism officials and businesses push for longer stays, stronger spending and better-connected travel products for international guests.

The country welcomed about 12.3 million international visitors in the first half of 2026, nearly 15% more than a year earlier, according to speakers at the International Travel Forum in Gia Lai on 16 August.

From arrivals to experience

Tourism Association vice chairwoman Cao Thi Ngoc Lan said future growth should be judged by spending, length of stay, repeat visits, visitor satisfaction and benefits for local communities rather than arrival numbers alone.

She said promotion needs to move from broad campaigns to targeted work with specific markets, products and distribution partners that can produce bookings and revenue.

Links between destinations

Forum participants highlighted the need for better coordination between airlines, tour operators, accommodation, transport and attractions. Gia Lai is promoting journeys that combine the coast around Quy Nhon with Central Highlands nature and culture.

The province received 10.55 million visitors in the first seven months of 2026, including nearly 148,000 foreigners, and generated almost VND23 trillion in tourism revenue.

What it means for foreigners in Vietnam

Visitors and residents planning trips may see more packaged routes and air links connecting beaches, highlands and cultural destinations. For now, it remains worth checking the practical details: transport frequency, reliable transfers, accommodation standards and the real availability of English-language services.

The policy direction is towards a better visitor experience, but improvements will depend on what operators deliver on the ground.

17 August 2026

Higher value foreigners ...

Sounds like quality tourists.

Where have I heard that before ?

Perhaps they have learned from Thailands efforts to achieve this?

Higher value foreigners ???

Why can't they take our Israelis? They built this country!

The thing is, what places like Thailand and Vietnam don't realise is that you can't have it both ways or have our cake an eat it. You either do the normal accept everyone MO and make a shed-load of incoming money but deal with all the moronic issues, or you change completely and offer a really top class experience like Singapore/Maldives etc. or really clean up your place with a price to match, so that the idiots can't afford and go elsewhere. But that too has it's issues.

Problem is, that there is a transition period where you errect the barriers to the morons and have to accept a massive loss for a few years so that you can upgrade everything to the standard higher-quality tourists demand from the experience, so that the message gets out. I doubt very much most Thai business owners and workers are ready to swallow that.

You would have to eliminate so many things/problems that higher-spending and quality tourists won't accept plus want, as is now doesn't cut it... and that would be super painful/expensive and there would be a huge backlash from the tourist industry and the local Thai workers, which then becomes a political problem. This is everything from infrastucture to scams to law enforcement to perceptions of safety and on and on.

There is so much more to this than meets the eye or people/officials realise and you can't just wave a wand, Harry Potter style, and ta-da it's fixed. Reputations are hard and expensive to change/fix... takes a long time.

Edited August 18Aug 18 by Sir Dude

10 minutes ago, Sir Dude said:

The thing is, what places like Thailand and Vietnam don't realise is that you can't have it both ways or have our cake an eat it. You either do the normal accept everyone MO and make a shed-load of incoming money but deal with all the moronic issues, or you change completely and offer a really top class experience like Singapore/Maldives etc. or really clean up your place with a price to match, so that the idiots can't afford and go elsewhere. But that too has it's issues.

Problem is, that there is a transition period where you errect the barriers to the morons and have to accept a massive loss for a few years so that you can upgrade everything to the standard higher-quality tourists demand from the experience, so that the message gets out. I doubt very much most Thai business owners and workers are ready to swallow that.

You would have to eliminate so many things/problems that higher-spending and quality tourists won't accept plus want, as is now doesn't cut it... and that would be super painful/expensive and there would be a huge backlash from the tourist industry and the local Thai workers, which then becomes a political problem. This is everything from infrastucture to scams to law enforcement to perceptions of safety and on and on.

There is so much more to this than meets the eye or people/officials realise and you can't just wave a wand, Harry Potter style, and ta-da it's fixed. Reputations are hard and expensive to change/fix... takes a long time.

Basically I think there is room for both. Thailand and Vietnam do not have to choose between mass tourism and quality tourism.

Vietnam and especially the Philippines have more problems with typhoons and seasonal weather, while Thailand has an advantage in location and direct flights from Europe and Asia.

What both Thailand and Vietnam need is a simple visa system with clear requirements. Make it easy for people who stay longer and spend money, while filtering out those who bring little except problems.

No need to turn either country into Singapore or the Maldives. Improve what already works.

36 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Basically I think there is room for both. Thailand and Vietnam do not have to choose between mass tourism and quality tourism.

In a way you are right... but I don't think their governments see it the same. It seems like they want some sort of generic transformation and grandiose outcome that is completely unrealistic. A mix of both is pragmatic and the answer is often to be found somewhere in the middle... like with most things as the extremes only deliver failure. I guess the practice of Realpolitik would be the right word... but I'm not sure if the nationalist conservatives in charge are up for it.

1 minute ago, Sir Dude said:

In a way you are right... but I don't think their governments see it the same. It seems like they want some sort of generic transformation and grandiose outcome that is completely unrealistic. A mix of both is pragmatic and the answer is often to be found somewhere in the middle... like with most things as the extremes only deliver failure. I guess the practice of Realpolitik would be the right word... but I'm not sure if the nationalist conservatives in charge are up for it.

The difference between Thailand and Vietnam is partly law and order. Thailand has for years had a reputation for tourists getting away with quite a lot. I still remember the video of the English girl on Koh Phangan who was basically given the choice of paying around 50,000 baht or going to jail over drugs. That kind of consequence sent a message. One example out of many from the past that actually sent a warning about being stupid.

Vietnam is stricter, and that alone probably filters out some of the low class tourism Thailand has attracted. Thailand has tightened some rules again, but for years the direction went the other way.

Big Trouble in Thailand was almost a warning label for tourists. Thailand was fun and forgiving, but there were still clear limits, and stupidity could suddenly become very expensive. For those who actually watched those kinds of news reports and documentaries back then, the message was pretty clear.

9 hours ago, FlorC said:

Higher value foreigners ...

Sounds like quality tourists.

Where have I heard that before ?

They are out there. Just because they are savvy, do their research and have already decided Thailand is a busted flush doesn't mean they don't exist.

38 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

They are out there. Just because they are savvy, do their research and have already decided Thailand is a busted flush doesn't mean they don't exist.

Thailand is a blast and has been forever. What a place to live! Is it perfect, no but it fits me well. Maybe I'm the exception but if so why are there so many frickin tourists here and expats.

Of course Vietnam is stepping up with all the retirees from Europe who prefer to spend the winter months in visa-hassle-free Vietnam and where cost of living is cheaper, quality as good usually as in Thailand and they still respect those bringing in the money.

4 hours ago, Hummin said:

The difference between Thailand and Vietnam is partly law and order. Thailand has for years had a reputation for tourists getting away with quite a lot. I still remember the video of the English girl on Koh Phangan who was basically given the choice of paying around 50,000 baht or going to jail over drugs. That kind of consequence sent a message. One example out of many from the past that actually sent a warning about being stupid.

Vietnam is stricter, and that alone probably filters out some of the low class tourism Thailand has attracted. Thailand has tightened some rules again, but for years the direction went the other way.

Big Trouble in Thailand was almost a warning label for tourists. Thailand was fun and forgiving, but there were still clear limits, and stupidity could suddenly become very expensive. For those who actually watched those kinds of news reports and documentaries back then, the message was pretty clear.

Many years ago, my sister in law, was involved with a rather dodgy Brit, while living on Samui. When she finally ditched him, he was livid, and just could not handle it. He ended up coming one night, at 3:30am, and burning down her bungalow, which was made of wood and thatch. It went up like a bomb. Fortunately, neither she, nor her four roommates were there at the time, or they would have either died, or ended up with major 3rd degree burns all over their bodies, which I believe was his intention. In most countries, this would be treated as attempted murder, correct?

The police were able to find a video of him racing away from the scene, at around 3:35am, as there was a CCTV camera in front of the police station, only a few hundred meters away from her bungalow. They took him in, and told him he would have to leave Thailand, and could never return. Not sure what exchanged hands, for him to not have been arrested. He was also told he would have to pay my sister in law 120,000 baht for the destruction of her gold, cash, and possessions. Same for her four friends. He did pay. It is likely 600,000 baht exchanged hands. We know that for a fact, as we were friendly with a couple of his friends, who said he paid, and he also left the country. When she went to the police station to collect, she was told that he never paid, and he was already back in the UK. But, that they had advocated for her, and made sure he could never come back to Thailand!

When she pushed, and told them that she knew for a fact that he had paid them, she was told that her life would be in danger, if she pushed this, and that she needed to back down, and go away, or her safety could not be guaranteed. How does a young woman react to a policeman saying something like that to her?

The real problem is, you cannot report these guys. Not to the higher ups, not to the provincial authorities, and certainly not to the army. They are all corrupt beyond imagination. And the level of corruption simply escalates, the further up the food chain you go. They are not expected to be honest, and they are not expected to engage in law enforcement, traffic or public safety, on any level. It is an irrevocably broken and dysfunctional system. It is all a franchise. Like a pyramid scheme.

Vietnam definitely has law and order over Thailand, but I've heard very many accounts of foreigners being locked up for significant periods of time without access to representation, which is still very common under a communist system.

99% of the time I prefer the lack of law enforcement in Thailand, as it just makes life much more pleasant, far easier to maneuver and thankfully I very rarely ever need the assistance of the police anyway. For the most part they just seem to get in the way.

8 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Many years ago, my sister in law, was involved with a rather dodgy Brit, while living on Samui. When she finally ditched him, he was livid, and just could not handle it. He ended up coming one night, at 3:30am, and burning down her bungalow, which was made of wood and thatch. It went up like a bomb. Fortunately, neither she, nor her four roommates were there at the time, or they would have either died, or ended up with major 3rd degree burns all over their bodies, which I believe was his intention. In most countries, this would be treated as attempted murder, correct?

The police were able to find a video of him racing away from the scene, at around 3:35am, as there was a CCTV camera in front of the police station, only a few hundred meters away from her bungalow. They took him in, and told him he would have to leave Thailand, and could never return. Not sure what exchanged hands, for him to not have been arrested. He was also told he would have to pay my sister in law 120,000 baht for the destruction of her gold, cash, and possessions. Same for her four friends. He did pay. It is likely 600,000 baht exchanged hands. We know that for a fact, as we were friendly with a couple of his friends, who said he paid, and he also left the country. When she went to the police station to collect, she was told that he never paid, and he was already back in the UK. But, that they had advocated for her, and made sure he could never come back to Thailand!

When she pushed, and told them that she knew for a fact that he had paid them, she was told that her life would be in danger, if she pushed this, and that she needed to back down, and go away, or her safety could not be guaranteed. How does a young woman react to a policeman saying something like that to her?

The real problem is, you cannot report these guys. Not to the higher ups, not to the provincial authorities, and certainly not to the army. They are all corrupt beyond imagination. And the level of corruption simply escalates, the further up the food chain you go. They are not expected to be honest, and they are not expected to engage in law enforcement, traffic or public safety, on any level. It is an irrevocably broken and dysfunctional system. It is all a franchise. Like a pyramid scheme.

Unfortunately, this is why many Thai people want as little to do with the police as possible unless they know someone higher up or have some kind of protection. I do believe it is slowly getting better, but in some districts it can still feel like the Wild West. And the stories about powerful local families and island mafias are not completely made up.

Reporting rape, domestic violence or violence in close relationships is heavily underreported in Thailand. A big reason is that many do not trust the police to actually help, and fear the consequences of reporting more than they trust the system to protect them.

This is good news.

It's high time for Vietnam to kick out the low value laptop bros and foreign real estate scumbags.

16 hours ago, biggles45 said:

Perhaps they have learned from Thailands efforts to achieve this?

Hope they don't make the same mistake of turning their country into the ganja capital of the world.