The province's tourism industry strives to welcome 33 million visitors by 2030, with international visitors accounting for 40 - 45%. Along with expanding and diversifying markets, the industry focuses on improving visitor quality, extending the length of stay, and increasing spending, contributing to making tourism a spearhead economic sector of the province.
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| Kazakhstani tourists arrive at Cam Ranh International Airport. |
Retaining regular visitors, seeking new ones
According to Ms. Thai Thi Le Hang - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the province's tourism development orientation, the consistent viewpoint is to continue recovering, maintaining, and expanding key, traditional markets such as Russia, CIS countries, China, and South Korea. At the same time, it aims to diversify visitor sources, reduce dependence on a few markets, and prioritize high-spending, long-stay tourist groups. Market development must be linked with improving product and service quality, expanding air connectivity, digital transformation, green transition, and destination branding. In the 2026 - 2027 period, the province will focus on tapping into priority market groups including: China, South Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Malaysia, and the United States; in the 2028 - 2030 period, it will expand to potential markets such as ASEAN countries, Western Europe, Australia, India, and the Middle East.
For the Chinese market, the province will increase the proportion of independent travelers, family tourists, young visitors, and high-spending tourists alongside tour groups. The South Korean market continues to be maintained as a stable and sustainable market, with a focus on extending length of stay and increasing the return rate of visitors. For Russia, Kazakhstan, and other CIS countries, the province targets the long-stay vacation segment, consolidating its position as a leading winter beach resort destination. For Japan and Malaysia, the province will increase the share of the high-end segment. The United States market is approached via transit flights, prioritizing luxury resort tourists, MICE travelers, cruise visitors, and the Vietnamese community in the United States. For new markets, the provincial tourism industry targets tourists with high affordability, long stays, and a high likelihood of returning.
Opening more flight routes
To expand international tourist markets, one of the decisive tasks and solutions is to maintain and develop the flight route network. The goal by 2030 compared to 2025 is to have at least 3 more countries and territories with direct regular flights to Cam Ranh International Airport; the total number of international seats supplied will increase by at least 20%; over 80% of new flight routes will be maintained after the first year of operation; and destination promotions will be carried out with at least 5 international airlines.
According to Ms. Thai Thi Le Hang, during the 2026–2027 period, the province will consolidate existing air routes to China, South Korea, Russia, Thailand, and Singapore, while expanding connections to Tokyo and Osaka (Japan), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). In the 2028–2030 period, the province will study opening new destinations in South Korea, Russia, Japan, and Malaysia, and approach markets in Indonesia and the Philippines, notably promoting the opening of regular direct flights 2–3 times a week connecting Sydney and Melbourne (Australia) with Cam Ranh.
Regular and charter flights will continue to be encouraged, especially for markets with seasonal resort demand such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and other CIS countries. For long-haul markets, the province will study connections via international transit hubs. The province will also cooperate with airlines, tour operators, and airport operators to build stimulus programs and aviation-tourism product packages tied to each route. Alongside direct-flight visitors, the provincial tourism sector will also focus on transit passengers from other domestic gateways, cruise tourists, and visitors arriving by road from neighboring localities.
Diversifying tourism products
The highlight of the plan is encouraging businesses to develop specialized products for each market. For Chinese visitors, the focus is on beach vacations, shopping, the night-time economy, and family tourism. South Korean visitors are targeted with golf, wellness, luxury resorts, MICE, as well as premium culinary experiences and multi-generational family vacations. For tourists from Russia, Kazakhstan, and other CIS countries, products include long-stay vacations, winter-escape getaways, and wellness retreats. Japanese visitors will be introduced to high-quality resort stays, wellness, and local cultural experiences.
For visitors from Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries, the provincial tourism sector aims to establish a Halal-certified service ecosystem including: restaurants, hotels, and prayer rooms, combined with family vacations and luxury resorts. For the US tourist market, the key products are luxury resorts, cruise tourism, and cultural and nature experiences; for the ASEAN market, short-stay vacations, weekend getaways, MICE tourism, culinary experiences, and entertainment; for the Indian market, MICE tourism, wedding tourism, and luxury resorts.
Along with that, the province will promote tours and routes associated with bird's nest and agarwood craft villages, Cham and Raglai cultures, and local cuisine. The Department of Industry and Trade has been assigned to study the development of commercial centers, pedestrian streets, and tourist night markets in Nha Trang ward and Phan Rang ward. The province strives to achieve an international tourist satisfaction rate of 80% or higher by 2027 and 90% or higher by 2030.
Tourism promotion is innovated towards customization for each specific market, strongly applying artificial intelligence, big data, digital platforms, and social networks popular in each country. Annually, the province organizes roadshows, welcomes famtrip and presstrip delegations, and participates in international tourism fairs in key markets; produces multilingual tourism videos, guidebooks, and maps. The Khanh Hoa tourism brand is positioned in association with the image of a "Safe - friendly - quality - attractive - sustainable destination".
The international tourist market development plan for the 2026 - 2030 period is expected to create a turning point for the province's tourism, shifting from quantitative growth to qualitative enhancement. Thereby, contributing to developing Khanh Hoa into an international maritime tourism and service center, placing it among the top 5 provinces and cities nationwide in tourism development, and gradually affirming its position as an exemplary destination in Southeast Asia.
In the first 10 months of 2026, the entire province welcomed more than 22.5 million visitors, up nearly 51% over the same period. Among them, there were over 7.8 million international visitors, an increase of nearly 67%. On that growth momentum, the Provincial People's Committee issued the International Tourist Market Development Plan for the 2026 - 2030 period with the goal that by 2030, total revenue from tourists will reach 9 billion USD; the service and tourism sector will contribute 20% of the province's GRDP; the average length of stay will reach 4 to 5 days/visitor, and average spending will increase by 1.5 to 2 times compared to 2025.
XUAN THANH
