Vietnam has now raised its position on the international arena as a world class travel destination offering world class facilities.
Vietnam tourism on world map
The American Magazine, Elite Daily, had ranked Vietnam in 2014 among ten of the cheapest countries for travellers, at a USD 20 per day budget. Later, when the Forbes magazine wrote of some of the most memorable destinations in 2017, based on the evaluation of world leading travel journalists, Vietnam was mentioned much more favourably. Marybeth Bond, a writer for National Geographic at that time, chose to share her experiences of Vietnam where she described kayaking in Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province and walking in the ancient town of Hoi An and enjoying the vast variety of street foods.
For many years, Vietnam was known as a cheap travel destination, mainly for backpackers. As a result, this image of a low cost country was imprinted in the minds of global travellers. However, the year 2019 can be considered as a turning point for the tourism industry in Vietnam when it began receiving many international tourism awards. Vietnam tourism was awarded four top Asia awards in 2019, including Top Destination in Asia. Vietnam was also awarded the World Top Heritage Destination 2019 and the World Best Golf Destination 2019.
In 2020, the Travellers Choice Awards, based on reviews from TripAdvisor travel website, also acknowledged Vietnam in many fields of tourism. The Hanoi La Siesta, La Siesta Hoi An and JM Marvel Phu Quoc in Kien Giang Province were voted among top ten emerging destinations by international visitors. On list of 25 most popular destinations, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City ranked 7th and 12th, respectively.
The World Travel Awards 2020 (WTA) have now awarded a multitude of prestigious awards to Vietnam and acknowledged the remarkable achievements of the tourism industry in the country. The Sun Group alone has received 25 awards in Asia and ten awards in the world from the World Travel Awards organization. In the Asia-Pacific region, Vietravel was the only representative of Vietnam to win in three important categories as a travel agency. It is due to the participation of strategic investors such as the Sun Group and Vingroup, as well as Vietravel, that Vietnam tourism has now established itself firmly on the world tourism map.
World class facilities
Da Nang in central Vietnam is being recognized by tourist writers as a leading city in southeast Asia with clean beaches, beautiful mountain scenery, luxurious resorts, a unique history, and the longest cable car in the world. The British writer, Bridget Arsenaul, wrote in Forbes magazine that the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula is the classiest place, where each corner has been artistically created with its own theme. She said that Danang is probably where one should go first when thinking about visiting Vietnam, but just staying at the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula was not enough as the city had stunning natural landscapes, beaches, cliffs, world class spas, and even a Michelin star restaurant.
According to architect Bill Bensley, besides the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula, there is also the splendid Hotel de la Coupole in Sa Pa in Lao Cai Province, and the JW Marriott Phu Quoc Emerald Bay, which was awarded the world's most luxurious wedding resort by WTA 2020. The luxury resort Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills was honored by WTA in the category of Asia's Leading Theme Resort. Many emerging hotel projects were also awarded by WTA 2020, such as the Premier Village Ha Long Bay Resort in Quang Ninh province and the Premier Residences Phu Quoc Emerald Bay on Phu Quoc Island. The Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh province was acknowledged by the World Travel Awards as a leading airport and business lounge in Asia. The Ha Long International passenger ship port was recognized as Asia's leading passenger ship port, with modern technical facilities that can accommodate large yachts.
The Covid-19 pandemic has put the world tourism industry on hold since the beginning of this year. The pandemic has also changed the perspective and safety demands of travellers in the future. According to Mr. Daniel Hostettler, General Director of the Ocean House, in the past, luxury travel meant having a good high end experience with the best quality service, but now travellers demand better reliability and safety standards as well.
Vietnam is currently already on the world map for its remarkable achievement in controlling and containing the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has paralysed life in almost all countries across the globe, but Vietnam can be truly proud of seeing a normal running life within its borders. Hence, it is not hard to believe that Vietnam can reach even greater heights in the field of tourism and stay among the top players globally in this field.
