As a key element of the enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Australia and Vietnam, the Strengthening Australia-Vietnam Tourism Cooperation Project (SAVTC) was launched to bolster tourism cooperation. As a result, Vietnam has emerged as Australia’s fastest-growing inbound market, and more Australians are choosing Vietnam as their travel destination.
Tourism is an important part of Australia’s firm cooperation with fast-growing economies in Southeast Asia. In recent years, tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Australia has received significant attention from high-level leaders. During Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s first official visit to Australia in March 2024, Vietnam and Australia reached a new milestone in bilateral relations by upgrading to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Based on an agreement between Vietnam and Australia, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) implemented the Strengthening Australia-Vietnam Tourism Cooperation Project (SAVTC) including several remarkable activities under ‘Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040’.
In this year, Vietnam-Australia Tourism Conferences and Bilateral Meetings were held to facilitate discussions and collaborations aimed at enhancing bilateral tourism cooperation.
- The Vietnam Australia Travel Symposium, held in June 2024, provided a platform for Vietnamese tourism businesses to engage with Australian counterparts, including bilateral meetings between national tourism agencies, B2B meetings, and discussions with organizations such as Tourism Australia, Melbourne Airport, Tourism Victoria, and Queensland Tourism and Events. This event provided an opportunity for both sides to exchange information on policies, tourism products, tours, and tourism infrastructure.
- Following the success of the Symposium event series, in September 2024, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) launched a Vietnam Tourism Roadshow campaign to promote Vietnamese tourism in Australia.
Additionally, the SAVTC project produced valuable reports:
- The Strengthening Australia-Vietnam Tourism Cooperation Report, prepared by Asialink Business, was published in October 2024. This report provides an overview of the Australian and Vietnamese tourism sectors and identifies growth opportunities, industry skill and knowledge gaps, and barriers to increasing two-way visitation between Australia and Vietnam across all visitor segments.
- The Australia-Vietnam Tourism Joint Data Project Final Report, overseen by the Griffith Institute for Tourism, was published in June 2024. The report aims to offer comprehensive profiles of visitors traveling between Vietnam and Australia. These detailed profiles enable the identification of distinct needs and preferences among different visitor groups, facilitating tailored tourism offerings that enhance visitor satisfaction.
The implementation of the Micro-Certification Course in Sustainable Tourism, offered by the Western Australian Technical and Vocational Education and Training (WA TVET) and the Vietnam Host Program, an innovative addition to the online training modules provided by the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), has significantly contributed to improving the capacity of the tourism industry. The certification course offers comprehensive knowledge on sustainable tourism practices, while the Vietnam Host Program is designed to equip tourism professionals with the skills to effectively cater to Vietnamese visitors. These programs have collectively made the tourism industry both more sustainable and more appealing to tourists
The strong cooperation between the Australian and Vietnamese governments has gained positive results. Vietnam has become Australia’s fastest-growing inbound market, with 178,000 visitors in the past 12 months to August 2024. Conversely, according to General Statistics Office of Vietnam, more Australians are traveling to Vietnam than before the pandemic, with 439,734 visitors in the first 11 months of 2024.
Australian Hospitality Alumni Network Vietnam 