Khanh Hoa repositions tourism map after merger

After the merger, Khanh Hoa re-established its local tourism position based on a new development orientation. The newly formed space, the newly opened space and many "burgeoning" inter-regional tours and routes have created a great advantage for Khanh Hoa tourism to reach the target of 15 million visitors.

Russian tourists return to Khanh Hoa after 5 years of "hibernation", promising to create a "launching pad" for the local tourism industry

Potential and opportunities are strongly activated

After the merger of Ninh Thuan province into Khanh Hoa from July 1, 2025, Khanh Hoa's tourism position has changed significantly, both in scale and development orientation. Most noticeable is the strong "activation" of potential and opportunities, creating a driving force for double-digit growth.

The combination of Khanh Hoa's strengths in sea and island tourism (Nha Trang, Van Phong Bay) and Ninh Thuan's strengths in cultural, ecological and discovery tourism (sand deserts, vineyards, Cham towers) creates a more diverse and attractive tourism product.

Mr. Ngo Dinh Khanh (Da Nang) shared: “My family used to travel to Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa province) before the merger. Currently, tourists can experience many different types of tourism in the same trip - from beach resorts, scuba diving, to exploring Cham culture and unique natural landscapes. Khanh Hoa needs to take advantage of this potential and strength to attract tourists.”

"Gold mine" of Russian tourists recovers strongly

According to the Khanh Hoa provincial tourism industry, in 2024, the province will welcome 105,500 Russian visitors, an increase of 206% compared to 2023, contributing greatly to the overall recovery of the industry. Nha Trang has always been considered a familiar destination for Russian tourists, accounting for 50% of the total number of Russian visitors to Vietnam.

The factors that attract Russian tourists include: beautiful beaches, white sand, warm sunshine all year round, very suitable for tourists from cold countries. In addition to swimming, they also love diving to see coral, mud bathing, exploring islands such as Hon Mun, Hon Tam, Hon Mieu.

In particular, the 45-day visa exemption policy and 90-day e-visa issuance for Russian tourists have created favorable conditions for tourism. Along with that, airlines such as Azur Air and Aeroflot reopened direct flights from Russia to Cam Ranh, contributing to promoting the return of this tourist flow.

Khanh Hoa is also actively promoting its image in the Russian market, coordinating with travel partners such as Anex Tour to attract more tourists.

From another perspective, after the merger, the area and population increased, helping Khanh Hoa become a major tourist center of the region and the whole country. Areas such as Cam Lam and Cam Ranh are also planned to become key tourist centers, complementing the coastal city of Nha Trang.

From the expanded scale, Khanh Hoa province can distribute tourist areas more reasonably, avoiding overload in some areas such as Nha Trang. The development of diverse tourism products helps reduce pressure on marine and island resources, while promoting ecological and cultural tourism. Khanh Hoa's vision is to become a centrally-governed city, an international sea tourism center and a growth pole of the region by 2030.

Notably, Khanh Hoa, especially Nha Trang, continues to be an attractive destination for Russian tourists. After being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian tourist market is recovering strongly thanks to tourism promotion policies, opening direct flights and outstanding local advantages.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa, expanding the scale and improving the quality of tourism products will help Khanh Hoa attract more international tourists, consolidating its position on the world tourism map.

Mr. Ho Van Tin, Director of Nha Trang Trade - Service - Tourism Company Limited, suggested that in order to retain and effectively exploit the source of visitors, Khanh Hoa needs to have a suitable product and service strategy, improve quality and diversify experiences.

Khanh Hoa aims to become an international sea tourism center by 2030.

Touching the desire of more than 15 million visitors

Experts believe that the goal of welcoming 15 million visitors by 2025 is completely feasible if Khanh Hoa invests heavily in transport infrastructure and services, ensuring convenient connections between regions, helping tourists move easily between attractions, while balancing tourism development with the preservation of cultural values, Cham heritage and natural landscapes, in which sea tourism is the main highlight.

In fact, Khanh Hoa has been implementing many solutions to reach this goal. A typical example is the spectacular return of Russian tourists after a period of actively promoting tourism.

Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism assessed that the return of Russian tourists after 5 years is a very positive signal. In the first 8 months of the year alone, the province welcomed 279,000 Russian tourists. It is expected that from now until the end of the year, this number of tourists will reach, or even exceed, the 2019 mark.

Not only promoting its internal strengths, Khanh Hoa also promotes cooperation and tourism links with the Central Highlands provinces to form “forest-sea” products. The Conference on Tourism Development Cooperation between Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak provinces recently held in Nha Trang is a typical example.

This connection not only creates an opportunity to connect the "blue sea" (Khanh Hoa) with the "great forest" (Dak Lak), but also identifies key orientations and solutions to build a sustainable tourism chain, forming a new and promising development axis for the period 2026 - 2030.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa province, emphasized that Khanh Hoa is known as a "paradise of sea and island tourism" with a coastline of nearly 500 km and more than 200 large and small islands, notably the bays of Nha Trang, Van Phong, Cam Ranh and Vinh Hy.

The province has all the conditions to become a national and international tourism center, with modern infrastructure including an international airport, seaport and a complete highway network. In addition, this is also a land rich in human values, possessing Cham and Raglai cultural heritages, along with a rich mountain ecosystem such as Hon Ba Nature Reserve and Nui Chua National Park - a solid foundation for sustainable tourism development.

Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak are two localities with unique strengths that complement each other. If Khanh Hoa stands out with its beautiful islands, temperate climate and modern infrastructure, Dak Lak is attractive with its rich Central Highlands cultural identity, majestic landscapes and world-famous coffee.

Tourism experts say that the connection between Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak needs to be based on the advantages of each region to create complementary products.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hieu, Director of Hoan My Resort, commented: “Talking about Dak Lak or the Central Highlands means talking about unique cultural spaces. When building a tourism link between Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak, the parties should not compare, but need to take advantage of the unique advantages of each locality to create complementary and harmonious tourism products.”

Sharing the same view, Vice President of Khanh Hoa Province Tourism Association, Mr. Nguyen Phi Hong Nguyen added that the connection between the "blue sea" - island resort tourism of Khanh Hoa and the "great forest" - eco-tourism, culture, and experience of the Central Highlands of Dak Lak is a strategic connection space, promising to open up a potential tourism development axis for both provinces in the coming time.

“To achieve effective cooperation and create specific products, tourism businesses of the two localities need to proactively innovate and improve service quality,” emphasized Mr. Nguyen Long Bien, Permanent Vice Chairman of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee.

Not stopping there, in order to connect the chain of tourism products from Nha Trang beach to the "land of thousands of flowers" Da Lat - Bao Loc, Khanh Hoa Province Tourism Association organized a Famtrip Nha Trang - Da Lat - Bao Loc with the participation of 30 travel and tourism service businesses.

Mr. Tran Minh Duc, Head of Khanh Hoa Tourism Association said: "The Famtrip Nha Trang - Da Lat - Bao Loc promises to bring a comprehensive view of new destinations and tourism products, especially the chain of resorts and tea experiences in the land of thousands of flowers Da Lat - Lam Dong".

The program focuses on exploiting in depth high-quality tourism products in Lam Dong, creating a premise for connecting Nha Trang - Da Lat/Bao Loc sea-forest tours, and paving the way for future linkage programs.

It is known that the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa has identified key development orientations such as: developing sustainable tourism, creating high-quality, environmentally friendly products, suitable for modern tourism trends; connecting and developing inter-regional tourism, coordinating with localities to promote advantages and diversify products; affirming the position of an international sea tourism center, promoting sea tourism, building Khanh Hoa into a high-class resort destination, a world-famous bay by 2030.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/khanh-hoa-dinh-vi-lai-ban-do-du-lich-sau-sap-nhap-20251021150824701.htm