Vietnam Wants Richer Tourism, Not Just More Tourists — Da Nang Hosts the Debate

Da Nang, Vietnam — As Vietnam's tourism industry rides one of its strongest recovery waves in years, a more ambitious question is now on the table: not how fast the country can grow, but how much more each visitor can be worth. That question takes centre stage on Thursday, 20 August 2026, when policymakers, hoteliers, data analysts and destination strategists convene at the Furama Resort Danang for a half-day conference titled "Vietnam Tourism 2027: Growth or Value?"

The framing is deliberately provocative — and refreshingly honest. For much of the past decade, success in Vietnamese tourism has been measured in arrival numbers. The 2026 conversation is different. With international demand back in force and domestic travel booming, the industry's leading voices are asking whether the next phase should chase volume or build value: longer stays, higher spend, stronger brands and a hospitality sector that competes on quality across the region.

A rare alignment of policy, data and industry

What makes the Da Nang gathering notable is who is in the room. The event opens with remarks from the leadership of the Da Nang People's Committee and Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director General of the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) — a signal that the value-versus-volume debate is now a matter of national strategy, not just boardroom talk. Do Hong Xoan, Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association and Chairwoman of the Vietnam Hotel Association, will formally open the conference, with Andre Gentzech, Vice President of Horecfex Vietnam, introducing the platform behind the event.

The morning then moves quickly from vision to evidence. Do Cam Tho, Head of Planning and Finance at VNAT, will present Vietnam's tourism development orientation for 2026–2030, laying out the official roadmap against which the industry's ambitions will be tested.

From there, the lens widens to the region. Hannah Pearson, Director of Kuala Lumpur-based consultancy Pear Anderson, tackles a question Vietnamese hoteliers ask constantly but rarely see answered with rigour: where does Vietnam actually stand on Southeast Asia's tourism map? With Thailand recalibrating, Japan surging and new long-haul source markets in play, an outside-in benchmark could be one of the morning's most valuable sessions.

Hard numbers follow. Oxy Ong of STR – CoStar Group, the global authority on hotel performance data, will unpack how Vietnamese hotels are really trading — occupancy, rate and RevPAR — and what the current signals suggest for 2027–2030. For a market where anecdotes often travel faster than data, this session alone justifies the trip to Da Nang.

The digital traveller and the competitiveness question

After the networking break, a representative of Meta examines how travellers now discover, evaluate and book trips in the digital era — essential listening for destinations and hotels still spending marketing budgets against yesterday's customer journey. Dang Manh Phuoc, CEO of Ho Chi Minh City-based research firm The Outbox Company, then addresses destination competitiveness head-on: what actually makes travellers choose one destination over another, and where Vietnam can realistically win.

The conference culminates in a panel discussion, "Choosing the Right Strategy for Tourism Growth," moderated by Nguyen Cao Son, Chairman of APC Corporation. The line-up blends operator, researcher and investor perspectives: Nguyen Duc Quynh, General Manager of Furama Da Nang; The Outbox Company's Dang Manh Phuoc; Dinh Trong Khoa, Director of Business Development, Vietnam, at IHG Hotels & Resorts; and Vu Cong, General Director of Jandec Asia. Expect a candid exchange — the panellists sit on different sides of the growth-versus-value equation every working day.

Why this matters beyond Vietnam

Seen from a regional perspective, the Da Nang conference reflects a broader shift across Asian tourism. Markets that once competed almost entirely on price and volume — Vietnam among them — are maturing into destinations that think in terms of yield, positioning and long-term brand equity. That evolution is good news for travellers, who get better products, and for investors, who get more sustainable returns.

Da Nang itself is a fitting stage. The central Vietnamese city has transformed from a beach stopover into one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic resort and MICE destinations, and the Furama — Vietnam's pioneering five-star beach resort — embodies the very value-creation story the conference will debate.

The optimistic reading, and the one this gathering seems built around, is that Vietnam no longer has to choose between growth and value. With policy direction from Hanoi, regional benchmarks, real performance data and a hotel industry hungry to move upmarket all converging in one room, the 2027 playbook may turn out to be both: grow smarter, and grow richer.

The conference runs 08:00–12:00 at Furama Resort Danang, with registration from 08:00 and a networking tea break mid-morning.