The article by Mr. Dinh Hong Ky was published on VNEXPRESS on February 15, 2023.
Sven Erik, our distributor in Norway for nearly 15 years, has frequently visited and worked in Vietnam.
Each time we met, he would share stories of his family’s long holidays—sometimes along the Mediterranean coast, other times in the Caribbean, or even in neighboring Thailand. Curious, I once asked why he didn’t choose Vietnam’s beautiful beaches.
Sven explained, “We used to vacation on the central coast of Vietnam but decided not to return. Vietnam has many stunning beaches and amazing food, but we couldn’t stand the trash. Plastic bags, bottles, food containers, leftover food, even duck eggshells, peanut shells, and used face masks were littered everywhere.”
I have another story from the tourism front. During a visit to a Vietnamese family in Montreal, Canada, I asked for travel recommendations in the Americas. They suggested the beaches of Central America to experience how they differed from those in Vietnam. So this past spring, we traveled to Cancun, a famous beach destination in Mexico.
Although Mexico requires visas for Vietnamese citizens, we were welcomed because of our valid Canadian visas. From the airport, we were transferred to a beachside resort. This 5-star resort offered full dining services with local, Asian, and European cuisines at seven top-tier restaurants, nature excursions, a nine-hole golf course, local food tasting tours, and shopping—all included in a package costing just under USD 1,000 per person, including roundtrip airfare from Montreal to Cancun. Compared to a similar tour with an equivalent flight distance—such as from South Korea to Vietnam—the value and service quality were simply unmatched.
What stood out the most was the cleanliness. The beaches and resort areas were entirely trash-free. Both resort staff and tourists were highly conscious about waste management, with garbage sorted from the source.
These experiences, along with Sven’s story, helped me understand why most international tourists don’t plan return visits to Vietnam. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in 2019—Vietnam’s golden year for tourism—only about 10% of international tourists returned, compared to 82% for Thailand and 89% for Singapore.
After a dismal 2022 in which Vietnam welcomed only 3.5 million international visitors, the country set a target of 8 million for 2023. Initially, experts viewed this goal as “within reach,” especially with expected reopenings from key markets like South Korea and, notably, China, which supplied over 5.8 million visitors in 2019.
However, after reopening on January 8, China only allowed its tour operators to resume outbound group tours to 20 countries—Vietnam was not among them. No one knows when the list will be expanded, leading to increasing urgency around the question: “How can we reduce dependence on the Chinese market?”
Looking toward Europe, a region full of wealthy, high-spending tourists, seems like an obvious solution. But Sven’s story proves that attracting this premium segment isn’t easy with the current state of Vietnam’s tourism sector.
Globally, waste management is becoming a critical issue. The world generates over 2 billion tons of solid waste annually, a figure expected to rise to 3–4 billion tons by 2050. Vietnam ranks fourth in the world for plastic waste discharged into the ocean. For foreign tourists—many of whom are environmentally conscious—the sight of trash scattered everywhere is simply unacceptable.
And trash is just one of many weaknesses in Vietnam’s tourism industry.
While the government is urging relevant agencies to adopt more open policies for tourist entry and the tourism sector is working hard to bounce back post-COVID, Vietnam has also committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. Therefore, developing tourism to simultaneously attract foreign visitors—with liberal visa policies, high-quality services, and competitive pricing—and reduce its carbon footprint are equally urgent challenges.
If Vietnam keeps promoting its beautiful beaches, stunning landscapes, friendly people, and rich cuisine but fails to simplify immigration procedures, offer compelling and competitively priced services, or ensure a clean, green environment, the 8-million-tourist goal will remain elusive.
Dinh Hong Ky
