Hotel chains are starting to swing away from the cities of Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi and into Vietnam’s secondary destinations, revealed major hospitality players at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) 2018 last week.
Hot favourites for development include Danang, Phu Quoc, Nha Trang and Sapa. Le Hoang Vu, consultant – development, Vietnam, InterContinental Hotels Group, described Danang and Nha Trang as “key growing cities” to watch.
Michael Ong, vice president, development, Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG), added: “We have a hub each in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, so now we’re ready to branch out to other areas like Danang and Phu Quoc. These are the areas in which we are going to begin our next phase of marketing.”
Another area to watch is Ho Tram, which has received Vietnam’s first Club Med resort and is “getting to critical mass”, observed Olivier Dung Do Ngoc, chairman, Dynasty Investment Corp.
Still, operators are not abandoning the tourism epicentres. Ong said that PPHG is “not done with Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi”, where the group is planning to fill the gap in supply of service apartments.
All considered, Ong said “there is a possibity that we will double our key count in Vietnam in the next three to five years”.
As the country heats up, hoteliers will play a vital part in readying the country for international tourism. Dung asserted that “tourism players must lobby for change” in issues such as infrastructure, service standards and the “soft experience”.
