Vietnam Tourism Aims for Data-Driven Ecosystem with Accelerated Digital Transformation

Vietnam's tourism sector is accelerating its digital transformation (DX) to modernize and enhance its international competitiveness. The strategy goes beyond developing individual applications or digitizing administrative procedures, aiming instead to build a comprehensive digital ecosystem based on data and technology. Tourism is inherently a composite industry, involving a wide range of services from transportation and accommodation to dining, entertainment, culture, and sports. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, digital technology is fundamentally reshaping how tourists search for information, choose destinations, book services, make payments, experience attractions, and share their journeys. In this context, Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW from the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation, provides a crucial strategic direction for the tourism industry to transition from isolated technology adoption to a modern, smart, and data-driven digital ecosystem. Past initiatives have seen local authorities and businesses actively implementing technologies such as smart tourism apps, digital maps, cashless payments, e-tickets, automated audio guides, and virtual reality. Many destinations have also begun leveraging data for market analysis, understanding tourist behavior, and improving promotional effectiveness. However, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism notes that current DX efforts remain fragmented. Data is often siloed across different sectors, government agencies, localities, and businesses, hindering seamless data integration and sharing. This fragmentation makes it difficult to base tourism management and business decisions on real-time data. The new resolution calls for a fundamental shift in this approach, positioning data as a vital resource, technology as a tool for productivity enhancement, and innovation as the driver of competitiveness, thereby moving from mere 'digitization' to 'data-driven management'. Based on this direction, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to develop a national tourism data infrastructure. This platform will consolidate data from state management agencies, businesses, destinations, and service platforms, strengthening both management capabilities and business operations. The application of AI and big data analytics is expected to enable tourism demand forecasting, seasonal visitor predictions, analysis of social media sentiment, early detection of service quality issues, and support faster, more accurate decision-making. Furthermore, the principle that citizens and businesses must be at the center of DX is emphasized. Tourism DX must deliver direct value to tourists and businesses. The ultimate goal is to create a convenient and intelligent travel experience, allowing tourists to seamlessly search for information, book, pay, experience, and share their trips within a single digital space. AI will play a role in automating multilingual content creation and distribution, personalizing promotional messages based on customer segments and travel stages, thereby enhancing the national tourism brand's promotion and optimizing resources amid intense global competition. For Vietnam's tourism, digital transformation is no longer an option but a prerequisite for a leap forward in this new era. In the digital age, data, technology, and innovation will increasingly become crucial resources for improving management efficiency, understanding markets, personalizing experiences, and creating new value for tourists, businesses, and the nation. Source: Nhan Dan