My wife and I travelled to Vietnam a few months ago. On the flight from Thailand to Vietnam, the Vietnamese airline refused to let us pay with a credit card for food for our children. It was only after much deliberation that they made us fill out a form with all our personal details and took photos of our passports and credit cards. All for 2 cans of pringles. At immigration, after a long wait standing with two young children, we were greeted by a surly immigration officer who wasn’t happy when we didn’t give him a bribe. The taxi taking us to the hotel tried to rip us off, and then the hotel put us in a room that was much smaller than we booked. This is all within a couple of hours of landing in the country. You can’t expect to have a tourist industry if nobody wants to return to your country.

I’ve just completed my 7th motorcycle trip around Vietnam. The overbuilding is nearly everywhere. It’s eerie to see so many buildings empty and so many resorts closed or empty. Sadly the trash situation only gets worse. In my numerous conversations with foreigners many have said it’s their first and will be their last trip to the beaches here due to the massive amount of plastic and garbage in the water and on the beach. I hope the people will someday realize what they have and treat the ocean and land better

I was in Vietnam a couple months ago (March '24) for a couple of weeks as a solo traveler. I traveled to HCM, Hanoi, and Da Nang (my favorite) and the surrounding areas. I had no significant issues. Immigration may not have been outwardly friendly, but they were relatively efficient. The 2-3 star hotels I stayed in were all dirt cheap compared to the U.S. prices. They were also all very clean and modern. Like any place, you need to do your homework and know what you are getting into. The people were very friendly and accommodating. In my opinion, the street food was excellent, although be selective on the food establishment you buy from. It is still much better than Mexico. I preferred the food over the Thai, Cambodian, and Lao dishes. Yes, the traffic was crazy, but I would describe it as organized chaos. I witnessed zero road rage. There was a lot of honking saying "I'm here." Everything just kind of flowed. I witnessed no street crime, nor did I encounter harassment or rudeness. I took the Grab (like Uber) taxis and scooters everywhere. ALWAYS reserve and pay through the Grab app. If you don't, the drivers may try to jack up the prices if you flag them down. That's just the way it is. Also, in the street markets be prepared to haggle about prices and just perhaps walk away and go to another vendor. Again, that's just the way they operate. There is a lot of garbage around many of the streets, which is unfortunate. Overall, I loved visiting Vietnam. It is such a beautiful country and I plan to go back next year. Now working on learning some of the language, which is quite challenging. When you visit Vietnam, you just have remember to go with the flow and abide by the old adage, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do." You will have the time of you life. 👍

Vinfast will bankrupt follow by Vingroup. Vietnam is in bad bad situation and their government is not telling the it people. It would be crazy to pour money in Vietnam right now

I can only talk about what I see and hear as a tourist as I’m not a business investor, but the biggest reason for deciding on a vacation to Vietnam (or other Southeast Asia countries) has been the ridiculous rise in airfares. Up to 3 times the prices pre pandemic. If airfare prices go down, tourism will go up

Vietnam has a terrible tourist retention problem. I live in Thu Duc and have traveled all over SE Asia and every tourist I talk too tells me unequivocally they will not be returning to Vietnam and will instead go back to Thailand, Malaysia the Philippines etc. Often it has to do with poor customer service or inconsistent prices but poor infrastructure and sanitary conditions are also high on the list of complaints. By far though the most common theme is the feeling that their tourist dollars are not as appreciated or valued in the same manner as many of the neighboring countries. And unfortunately it has been this way since I first arrived back in 2016.

Obviousley Vietnam is more expensive and visa restrictions than Thailand, Bali & Combodia

Vietnam real estate is way overvalued. By as much as 10x in some areas. Still a long way to fall

Bit of a tip. Vietnam is full of hotels, especially in D.1 You'll get a better rate by negotiating a price with the hotel directly. This is what I do whenever I go to Vietnam. I always use the line 'Would you rather rent the room to me for $XX or have the room sitting empty?'. Saves them paying a cut to the booking companies. It's a win-win for myself and the hotel.

Ken Duong is amazingly articulate! He wields his excellent educational background expertly. I bet not one of his Non Vietnamese acquaintances know the correct pronunciation of his name. I am 77 and been retired here for 15 years. Due to health, financial and circumstance I don't have opportunities to visit my native Canada any more. I wish I had recognized the business potential here when I first arrived. I love Vietnam and still enjoy it, warts and all. I want to do more in the work place but life can be difficult. Mr. Duong's candor and charisma are refreshing. Golden advice!

The problem is Vietnam has the lowest return rate among South East Asian countries for tourism. It has such a potential. But going to places like Bui Vien with the same loud bar every 10 meters, the scammers everywhere, the new Food market with poor food , and seeing all those Resorts with no soul popping everywhere on the coast doesn't give a great image. I wish Vietnam was using its full potential to attract visitors and make them return.

We arrived Saturday morning 11//11, got thru immigration and customs in less than 15 minutes… loves it. Great job VN.

To attract more tourism Vietnam needs to fix a few issues: - eViss - scale jpg server side - I struggled to get it to work - fix taxi scams at the airport and elsewhere - fix airline scams - ban honking - super annoying - fix pricing scams - all prices to include VAT and service charges - shops like groceries must publish prices Just spent 2 weeks in Da Nang - nice clean beach, vast choice of hotels, restaurants, coffee shops. But very few people speak English, not even young people. Lots of abandoned condo and hotel projects.

People do not want to spend money to buy house and land in VN if they cannot own it in their name but just lease only

Do Not use ATM to withdraw cash in Vietnam cause they will robbed you dry. the bank limited three millions Dong withdrawal but the fee was actually 20$ US which was a hidden charged.

Just want to say, as someone here for over 18 years, i love your content so much!!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Thank you Ken, my gf is involved in the tourist industry she has experienced tough times since the start of covid I don't believe tourism in Vietnam has recovered as yet? 🤔

Vietnam should create a LONG-TERM VISA option for retired people with a starting age of 45 years old but a cheaper price than Thailand's new ELITE VISA option which is over-priced with almost no-benefits!

Very concise, informative presentation, Ken. Its worth noting that VN’s economic trajectory is still very positive, esp regarding manufacturing & exports. Tourism is heavily dependent on China & Russia, both of which have their own current difficulties. While developers & the hospitality sector may be hurting, the crisis should result in bargains for most tourists.

Great objective assessment - no sugar coating, no biased opinions. Just facts.

The tourist industry needs a huge media campaign for educating the people about trash along the rivers and beaches. It reminds me of the US media ad back in the 70’s with the Native American crying. I was along the coast - stopped to watch the sunset- beautiful sand beach just outside of Phan Rang. Many people had pulled over to enjoy this scene. I basically started crying because of the trash. The beach was so beautiful, yet the locals trashed it. Clean that shit up and people from around the world will be coming and spending thousands of dollars. The younger generation does seems to realize this- No wonder there are resort after resort empty. I would hope there is a solution.

I've been in Vietnam for a couple of months. Still learning the ropes. One comment on real estate. It seems the number of people living here who also have a good amount of disposable income are a fairly large group. This same prosperous group have a fairly limited choice on how to put their excess earnings (capital) to work. For example, Joint stock is a closed end funding, bank deposits pay only 6% yield and hard to purchase higher-yielding local debt or foreign securities. To reach for higher yield, say 10-20%, real estate seems one of the only choices. That leads to excess capital flowing to the sector, which over time causes bubble in valuation followed by bust. Just one small person observing.

Very thorough info. Thanks. I hope Vietnam continues to develop/improve the medical/dental tourism sector. My relative was there pre-2019 and had excellent dental work done in Ho Chi Minh city.

Interesting video! We drove out to Do Son beach in Hai Phong and saw the huge construction since my last visit in 2019, most of it seems empty. I do understand tourist areas like Da Nang and Ha Long are building resort, but I wonder how they will compete with Ha Long bay. Also in comparison I noticed all the new suburban areas being built on the outskirt of Ha Noi as you get in from Hai Phong. Huge constructions and mostly empty. I wonder if the local Vietnamese will be able to afford moving to these new areas or they will end up as ghost cities. Just some thoughts.

Vietnam needs to waive the visa policy for US tourists. I am sure many tourists want to transit in Vietnam and stay there for several days before heading to their destination. The visa policy makes many tourists turn their back to Vietnam. Open up if you want more tourists.

Vietnam is too noisy and dirty for me. Can't compete with Thailand...

It will NOT improve. Greedy Greedy Greedy. As a tourist from South Africa in 2019 I paid about $15 for 30 day single entry Visa. Now the same visa costs $48. Thailand is amazing ....nothing has changed. 30 day FREE visa on arrival and very friendly welcoming people. Thailand is much cleaner, more orderly, less scammers and the variety of food available cannot be compared. Vietnam improve your act and visitors will return. Vietnam is a beautiful country.

Thanks for the info. I subscribed. Vietnam has a lot of potential. The next decade will see many changes and improvements

was in Mui Ne months ago, only a handful of guest at the resort, ofcourse it's nice to have the beach and resort with very few people

Goodday Ken, Thanks for all your hard work keeping all.of us who love Vietnam 🇻🇳 updated with the in's & out's of daily life & economy of Vietnam 🇻🇳. Hopefully it all turns around for the better next year. Alot of my Aussie friend are hesitant to goto Vietnam from all the bad stories they read on social media. Everyone I know goto Bali & no where else followed by Thailand 🇹🇭. The issue with Bali & Thailand is there are way too many Russian's & they are changing the culture of these 2 destinations. Is the oversupply of Russian's happening in Vietnam? Cheers Louis Kats your number 1 Fan in Melbourne, Australia 🇦🇺 🇻🇳 👍

Thank you for all your hard work. I find your information presented is consistently accurate and extremely enlightening. Helps all of us abroad get a pulse on local business condition and trends.

Mr Ken, thank you for your work. I am a tourist who has been in VN since 12/2023. From my room window, I can see the vacancy is terrible. So many hotels, but not occupied. From Phu Quoc to Da nang to Nha Trang. Traveling to the SGN airport on Friday, you can see it's empty. 5 stars hotels tried to cut cost, there for the service also got affected. So I think you hit it dead on. I am surprised that FDI still pouring in. Where is it going? Remain to be seen.

The good hotels in Vietnam are so expensive. Back in 2007, we stayed at the Saigon Riverside hotel, it cost US$250 back then. The hotel was not good at all. I would not even give it 3 stars. This month, the Park Hyatt costs $500, despite November being low season.

Wow Great videos thank you so much ❤👌👍🇻🇳

Thank you for choosing this topic. 👍🏼👍🏽

The reason tourists don't want to come back to Vietnam is that it's overpriced and no longer worth the money. It used to be cheap but no longer the case. People rather spend their money somewhere else.

The competition is tough. Rich dollars go to singapore and exclusive islands of thailand. Gambling money goes to australia. Then you have bali, phuket, bangkok and even cities in India like goa, udaipur etc where the service levels and organisation is higher.

Since they don't want retirees, a lot of space will sit empty.

why? what you know happening now in china with regard to real estates is also what is happening now in vn regarding the same thing. what's going on in china is also what's going on in vn simultaneously. don't take my words for it; you can always compare the two. they are like 'one body with the same limbs functioning, operating on the same brain'!

Visa, it's all about the Visa. The tourist problem would be immediately settled if they went to a visa on arrival 90 days.

Same thing in the US. Commercial Lending is about 2 years behind the rest of the economy.

The whole world is poorer than before due to inflation and cost of living increase. That's why people are not traveling much.

The addition of the 90-Day Tourist Visa will help but unfortunately was very late returning to the Tourist cycle. I agree that Tourism should pick-up in 2024 and 2025 as many Tourists will be using that time not only for R&R but also to explore possible alternative locations to live. I believe the Housing and Touring Developers should be focused on creating Marketing Strategies for these Tourists that offer a welcoming environment and to highlight Vietnam's lower Costs, fresh Food, ancient Culture, high level of Safety and most importantly, the friendly people of Vietnam.

Contents are excellent this year, keep them coming. Thanks

I'm currently visiting Vietnam for the month. There are definite turn-offs out here in Da Nang and other areas of this country from the littering, unnecessary traffic and soliciting noises, rotted garbage, senseless acts, solicitating, aggressive sales push. Scam fees from wet wipes and other items while dining that's not disclosed to consumers. Some of which that may include upcharges for: service fees, taxes and gratuity at some places. One business during their Happy Hour, for only 2 mocktail drinks charge me at regular price for 2 mocktails that were supposedto be but one- get one free. The server claimed I ordered outside the HH time when I'm actuality I ordered an hour before it ended. I'm half Vietnamese and I've most recently have considered possibly a future here. However, I'm leary with these negative experiences. Additionally there are many builders as mentioned in this video that abandoned major developments, which has left the area a complete eye-sore especially along the coastline. What will the Vietnamese government do to rectify this? It is not appealing. It can be so beautiful here and it's so sad to witness locals and natives not caring about their surroundings. I'm open to suggested areas to reside in to avoid these concerns. Thank you in advance.

Good info video Ken Yeah ! Tourist don’t like coming back to VN too many have bad experiences Tourism rules also need less restrictions to attract those who want to try to visit VN Overall, VN still have much more to offer and less exploited Stay tune ! Thanks for sharing 🙏🙏👍👍

I traveled to Vietnam yesterday I was refused entry because my middle name was missing on the visa. I've been to Vietnam many times, the hotels are out of luck. If they can't give tourist friendly visas and a decent web site the hotels will stay empty. On my way to Thailand

Time to increase longer tourist visa, 3 months is great, but people want longer tourist visa and watch the influx of tourism increase once that happens. 6 months to 1 year tourist visa! Would make me plan my trip right now! So, I’m just waiting and hoping.

Very good reporting !!! Failure usually happens because of multiple mistakes. Opportunities comes from crises.

Love to go back to Vietnam but flights are so expensive if you come from Europe.

Well, hope things get better for you all investors out there in Vietnam

Love vietnam, been 5 times over the last 8 years and will come back but the biggest thing I hear and think myself that there is no night life or much to do at night, outside of saigon. Big comment is had a great time but won't go back.

I'm in Thailand now on a one year visa. Being retired I am only interested in the ability of long-term. While I would like to travel more, I find myself preferring to stay as long as I want. Vietnam is a place I plan to go, but, I am hopeful their policies relax for long term retirement expats. I appreciate your Great videos and channel.

Well done Ken , very informative. I think that things will get worse before they get better. Thats with western tourists, the west is under a lot of financial stress. Hopefully countries not in the west can puck up the slack. Your government should look at making things easy for expats to retire there.

Very good video. Thanks

We were walking around Hoi An market to find something to eat. The street was narrow and there was a lot of people walking on the street, one of the motorcycle was driving really fast through the crowd and almost hit us. I don't think I want come back to the country do not value human lives.

Timeshare a failure everywhere, an old concept that died long time ago. AirBnB is better.

Thank you for sharing your insights with everyone. I really love Vietnam and the people and I want nothing more than for the country to be successful and prosperous. I truly believe the country is on track to become an important economy in the very near future as it continues to make smart decisions with other countries such as Japan, the US, Korea and many more. Take care and as always look forward to your videos.

I like Vietnam but once visited, there’s nothing to return for.

Great video Ken! We are in a global recession and recovery maybe not until 2H of 2025.

The Vetnam peoples do good atracting investment for rich mens and other peoples. They are building many pipelines for oils and coal slurries to help the peoples cook and use fan in hotels. It is good for these rich mens but the people must suffer more trafic and pollutions and more peoples come from china for cheap trill and other problems for the Vetnam peoples.

I am Australian and have visited Veitnam many many time if i could stay in Veitnamm and buy property i would move there iediately

Vietnam likes Ghost Cities just like China!

Well, the whole world econ is no good now. Travelers are now very smart now. Whether the money is worth spent or not. People wanted to travel but they are skeptical about their jobs stability and high inflation. Not only vn is slow but every region is slow for now

Great video I have travelled many times to Vietnam and the biggest issue I have is the visa process. This needs to be fixed before it can improve it's tourist industry. The application process is not straight forward, the stays are limited and considering the long coastline of Vietnam the short time visa is not sufficient to spend meaningful time. People coming to Vietnam expect the hustle and bustle of city life but they don't expect what awaits them when they travel there. Visa extensions are non-existent within the country beyond 30 days for foreign travellers. Neighbouring Cambodia has a better visa application and extension within the country which is straight forward.

The sad thing is that with less tourists, there will be more competition. In order to survive/make a living, some will resort to a bait-and-switch tactic. It will compound the issue by driving away tourists.

Great INfo. Thanks for sharing

Vietnam is one country I would like to visit. I have visited Thailand of course many times, the Philippines, Singapore & Malaysia. I would like to visit Indonesia, Lao & Cambodia as well.

Vietnam needs to change its policies. What policies? Everything!!!

9:56 The building over your left shoulder Ken is perhaps a good example of Vietnam's spluttering tourism industry, the Mandarin Oriental has been that way for years. Any idea when or if it will open? Thanks for the vid!

Where I'm from people can't keep up with rent. People are moving out of this city and state but they are still building new high rises.

I think there are a few issues that contribute to tourism issue: - Vietnam and Asia open later than other countries (Latin America). I travel regularly to Latin America and I met people that usually visit Asia switching to Latin America during Covid. Some of these people might not even go back to Asia. - I think Vietnam tourism is back to pre-Covid is because of Viet Kieu. They haven't been able to visit for 2 years so everyone want to go, the cost of flight to Vietnam is through the roof. This will make other tourists to look for alternative like Latin America which is closer and the money goes a long way as well. - Tourism is a service industry and Vietnam still have some improvement if they want to retain tourists once they visited the country. I'm Vietnamese and I visited Vietnam once but I lost count how many time I visited Colombia. I wish the best of luck for Vietnam. I would love to visit again but I need to get over the 20+ hours flight vs 5 hours to Colombia. So far, Colombia keep winning 🤣🤣🤣

There is a global adjustment going on as a consequence of adjusting from low interest rates (3-5%, '09-19) to 10-20% This not only impacts new borrowing but also re-financing existing loans.

Sorry to say..., it will get worst before it gets better. Like every country today, you have to reach a stabilizing point before the economy starts on a new direction for the better and Vietnam hasn't reach that point as of yet.

I love the Vietnamese people for the most part. The biggest problem I have in Danang is wonderful people get behind a motorcycle and turn into crazy people Third day I was here riding my motorcycle a girl riding the wrong way down the street pulled out in front of me hit me and then the people that came wanted me to pay her medical after she hurt me. I am 69 years old and it's going to take me 3 weeks to recover from the bruses. Vacant lot next to the hotel has rats running within a few feet away...i hate that.

Da Lat is booming plenty of backpacking going on but not high end hotels okay 👍💯 Ho Chi Minh City is way overpriced IMO okay 👌

Why they still keep building new project in Phu Quoc after ghost town happened? They are currently building another city called Mey pearl. Why they still do this? Phu quoc seems empty for now.

You forgot to mention Vietnamese American and Vietnamese European who are largely very successful and refuse to travel to Vietnam because of intimidation.

Great update!

Thats still good though. In Australia its the opposite. Tourism and mogration so high but the government doesnt build enough houses.

Visited Da Nang, CN Palace hotel did a bait & switch on us. When we showed up, hotel said the rooms we booked aren't available but only expensive rooms available. VN culture doesn't know service.

good video!

tourism is booming but backpacker tourism =)) Hostels are doing great just not hotels.

I appreciate your honest reports. I dislike going to Vietnam because the visa process for US travelers is a pain in the ass. Is that going to improve? Waiting at the airport for the communist red tape to process me is unacceptable.

They need to make Visa entry more easy like Thailand for people to bother even going to Vietnam.

Some say Vietnam has poor customer service, i absolutely disagree! Been to Vietnam 14 times since 2010 and I’ve mostly treated very well, but I have to mention I always avoided tourist areas, specially in Saigon and up north Mui ne! One of the biggest issues, the relatively low quality rooms/apartments! If you want high standard accommodations, you gotta pay way more than in Thailand for example! Other than that, I love Vietnam, it’s a great country

Vietnam gdp has been up and up during the last decade due mainly to real estate sales and development.

The bank's sectors are the culprit; they operate like cartels-predator lending and risky.

For those who can afford slightly more, China's tourist attractions/destinations beat Vietnam hands down. No comparison at all, as a matter of fact.

Maybe flexible occupation of buildings for not flexible usage of such until is a solution. Certain amount of time simple rooms, another time used for different activities.. Not to determine what a building is for but simply offer as what is: a building; many would like to apply own interests with own staff, i assume. Sounds raw, but ain't any investment ever ?

Build for the future. Invest for the future. As long as corruption is not involved, any infrastructure investment and development is good for the country and the people. Maybe, just change the Minister for Tourism. Well done, Vietnam. .

I think the Visa restrictions are very restrictive for travelling and steady investment growth. Retirement visas would bring a steady investment of Capital and nowhere as subjected to the fraud and fake figures that high fliers like to use.

Honesty!

You should do videos on Companies that are making western goods, stock market updates

Dear Ken, I m going to vietnam this summer. Which hotel would you recommend in hanoi and hcm ?

I think the problem, no tourist because worldwide people have financial problems this why less and less people to travel

You didn't mention " refuse Visa "

Vietnam dont have public toilet. Every time you go to use restroom they ask u money . Scare the tourist. They push them away

need a 10 years visa:)

Line up in the immigration during departure n arrive is too long and its a bad systems, poor service in the airports in VN