On December 20 in Phu Quoc, Visit Vietnam was officially launched at the conference "Visit Vietnam — Connecting Data, Shaping the Future of Tourism," co-organized by the National Data Association (NDA), the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), Sun Group — Asia's leading tourism developer — and Visa, the world's leading digital payments technology company.

This marks the first time Vietnam has introduced a national-level data platform dedicated to tourism, representing a significant milestone in the country's digital transformation, particularly as the tourism sector celebrates reaching 20 million international visitors in 2025.

At the event, Sun Group showcased the first development version of Visit Vietnam, demonstrating how the platform collects, processes, and visualizes real-time tourism data. According to the rollout plan, the platform will be fully operational by Q2/2026.

Colonel Ha Nam Trung, Deputy Director of the National Data Center, emphasized: "We are laying the first building blocks for a national data ecosystem, where every ministry, business, and locality can participate and benefit. With initiatives like Visit Vietnam, backed by the determination of government, enterprises, experts, and the public, the tourism sector will be one of the first to see tangible outcomes from digital transformation."

Visit Vietnam is endorsed by the Government, with the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) and the National Data Association (NDA) serving as coordinating partners. The platform is developed and operated by Sun Group, while Visa contributes international payment data, spending behavior insights, and global security standards — enabling the platform to approach the benchmarks set by smart-tourism nations.

A Trusted National Tourism Data Infrastructure

Visit Vietnam is designed as a unified data backbone for government authorities, businesses, and travelers. At its core is a real-time national tourism map that allows authorities to monitor visitor density, manage demand flows, and identify operational risks proactively.

Parallel to this, the platform serves as a centralized digital marketplace where travel agencies and service providers can showcase products, update information, and reach travelers through an official national channel — all while actively contributing to and benefiting from the sector's shared data ecosystem. Businesses are supported with smart management tools that allow them to update offerings, track demand by segment, and understand market needs with far greater accuracy.

A key advantage of Visit Vietnam stems from Sun Group's extensive network of destinations across the country, a rich source of operational data covering tourism, leisure, and hospitality. Once standardized and integrated into Visit Vietnam, this ecosystem forms a "living data model" that enhances the platform's forecasting capabilities for the entire industry.

Advanced Market Analytics for Businesses

At a deeper data layer, Visit Vietnam develops advanced market-insight reports that combine real-time operational data with Visa's international payment datasets. This enables tourism businesses to identify high-value markets, spending trends, seasonality patterns, and behavioral shifts — supporting product optimization and more effective marketing strategies. For the first time, Vietnamese tourism enterprises have access to a standardized, continuously updated analytical tool to drive growth based on data rather than intuition.

AI Travel Assistant — A Smart Digital Companion

Beyond data infrastructure, Visit Vietnam also functions as an AI-powered travel assistant, accompanying travelers throughout their journey. Leveraging national-level data and smart recommendation algorithms, the assistant enables visitors to build personalized itineraries, book services, manage their trip in a single interface, access real-time destination updates, and receive alerts on crowding, weather, or operational issues — all within one unified platform.

When the data powering the platform is accurate (built on the national data infrastructure), comprehensive (enhanced by payment and behavioral insights from strategic partners such as Visa), clean (standardized, validated, and quality-checked), and live (continuously updated in real-time), travelers are empowered to enjoy an ideal, seamlessly planned journey in Vietnam.

Alongside Visa, NCB (National Citizen Bank) plays a strategic role in enhancing payment experiences on Visit Vietnam. At the conference, NCB CEO Ta Kieu Hung presented the bank's digital payment solutions under the vision "Shifting from transactions to experiences: turning payments into a national competitive advantage in tourism." Among these, iziPay, developed in partnership with NDA and Visa, will be integrated into Visit Vietnam, enabling visitors to instantly book and pay for services within the platform.

During the conference, Sun Group and Visa signed a strategic partnership agreement, affirming a long-term commitment to combine Visa's global technology and analytics capabilities with Sun Group's nationwide tourism ecosystem, jointly integrated into the Visit Vietnam platform. The partnership aims to accelerate digital transformation, enhance the travel experience, and strengthen Vietnam's competitiveness and sustainable tourism growth.

Mr. Pham Van Thuy, Deputy Director of VNAT, stated: "Visit Vietnam is not simply a booking tool; it represents a shift in development mindset. It is how we prepare for the future of tourism — a future built on data, technology, and AI. With data as the foundation, Vietnam's tourism sector will be better positioned to attract high-value markets and move closer to its ambition of becoming a leading destination in the region."