Okayama Castle is among the attractions popular with Vietnamese tourists visiting Japan. (Photo: Japan National Tourism Organization)

Gradually raising two-way tourist arrivals to 2 million

According to Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism Ha Van Sieu, Vietnam and Japan have a friendly and comprehensive partnership that is becoming increasingly substantive and in-depth in all fields. Tourism cooperation has consistently been one of the highlights of bilateral relations, helping strengthen people-to-people exchanges, deepen mutual understanding, and contribute positively to the socio-economic development of both countries.

“In recent years, close coordination among the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, the Japan Tourism Agency, the Japan National Tourism Organization, localities, and the business communities of both countries has produced encouraging results in Vietnam-Japan tourism cooperation. In 2025, Vietnam welcomed more than 814,000 Japanese visitors. In the first six months of 2026, the figure exceeded 441,000, up more than 10% year on year”, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism Ha Van Sieu said.

In the opposite direction,, in 2025 nearly 679,000 Vietnamese tourists visited Japan, surpassing the target set by the Japanese side. In the first six months of 2026, the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan reached 396,000. With these results, the goal of achieving 2 million two-way tourist arrivals between the two countries is increasingly within reach.

Japan’s Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki shared: “Tourism is one of the important sectors contributing to stronger people-to-people exchanges and closer cooperation between Vietnam and Japan. The two countries have set a target of increasing two-way tourist exchanges to 2 million”.

To help realise the target, Japan’s Embassy in Vietnam has actively coordinated with the Japan National Tourism Organization and the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism to implement various tourism promotion and exchange activities.

Beyond growth in visitor numbers, Vietnam-Japan tourism cooperation has also continued to expand and deepen through cooperation mechanisms, memoranda of understanding, joint promotion programmes and human resources training activities. The tourism sectors of both countries are also promoting cooperation in digital transformation and sustainable tourism development.

At the same time, exchanges of tourism market information help both sides keep abreast of emerging trends, demand, and traveller preferences. Direct business networking activities also create opportunities for travel companies, airlines, hotels, destination management agencies, and local authorities to identify partners and develop new, diverse tourism products and programmes better suited to the needs of travellers from both countries.

Expanding air links, leveraging local strengths to attract visitors

Japan’s Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki stressed that air connectivity plays a crucial role in promoting tourism exchanges between Vietnam and Japan. In recent years, Vietnamese airlines have increased frequencies on several routes between the two countries and launched new services, helping facilitate two-way travel.

The maintenance and expansion of direct air routes between cities in the two countries, together with favourable visa policies, have created better conditions for tourism, trade and investment exchanges, thereby contributing to stronger bilateral cooperation.

Analyzing the strengths of Japan’s tourism industry, Chief Representative of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Matsumoto Fumi, said the country possesses a wide range of distinctive attractions, from four-season natural scenery, landscapes, culture, cuisine, history and traditions to the diversity of lifestyles and cultural identities across its regions. Especially, Japan always offers something new to discover, even for travellers who have visited the country many times.

To make effective use of these strengths, travel businesses play an important role in developing and introducing products that meet the increasingly diverse needs of Vietnamese tourists.

Alongside famous destinations such as Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, and Osaka, demand is rising for new destinations and tourism products that reflect Japan’s distinctive identity while catering to individual interests.

“The Japanese outbound travel market from Vietnam continues to maintain positive growth. This momentum reflects the results of cooperation and the joint efforts of tourism agencies, organisations and businesses in both countries”, Chief Representative of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Matsumoto Fumi said.

The Japan National Tourism Organization said it will continue working with Vietnamese partners to promote and expand the Vietnamese visitor market while encouraging tourists to explore more localities and regions across Japan.

For its part, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism will continue supporting businesses and Japanese partners in implementing joint tourism promotion programmes. It will also coordinate market research, promote digital transformation, encourage the opening of additional air routes, and strengthen the promotion of destinations, tourism products and service chains of both countries across media platforms.

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