Vietnam was ranked 59 out of 119 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index 2024 a slide from 52nd place in 2022. The Vietnam National Tourism Administration, however, has disputed these results.
Firstly, the administration claims that the ‘socio-economic impact of tourism’ indicator, which placed Vietnam 115th, contradicts the findings of Vietnam’s General Office of Statistics which often ‘evaluates (tourism and travel) as bright spots, contributing greatly to economic growth’. The WEF indicator, however, is grouped under sustainability and looks at job quality, wages, and gender parity. By comparison, the GSO tends to focus on the number of tourists and how much money they spend. This is not really comparing apples with apples.
It’s second key point of contention is ‘tourism openness’. The administration points out that the ‘entry visa requirement’ indicator was based on the World Tourism Organisation’s report on Visa Openness in 2015. This does not actually appear to be the case, rather the WEF report notes that its results are ‘consistent’ with the aforementioned WTO report.
With this in mind, if these are the only two arguments disputing the results, it looks like they are probably mostly accurate.
See also: How to Open a Hotel in Vietnam: Ultimate Guide 2024