A man checks an automatic photo-taking system at the conference on Housekeeping Management in the AI Era. The system helps the visitor pose for photos and then prints on site. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG – AI-driven applications are now a key driving force boosting tourism and housekeeping for ‘green’ and sustainable growth in the coming decades, when travellers increasingly rely on digital platforms, websites and social media for tour and accommodation booking, as well as to design designing personal and group trips.

The Vice President of the Việt Nam Tourism Association and President of the Việt Nam Hotel Association, Đỗ Hồng Xoan said AI application are now a 'must' while addressing a conference on Housekeeping Management in the AI Era.

Hand-in-hand with digital transformation in tourism is how to make it more attractive, to make it more effective and how tourism can grow more green and sustainably, while costs can also be cut.

She said a series of tourism promotion measures have helped boost the industry in the first quarter this year, including a 45-day exemption visa for visitors from 12 countries and online procedures to make applications easier.

Xoan said the country had hosted 7.67 million international travellers in the first quarter of 2025, a 23.8 per cent increase with the same period of last year, earning 328 trillion (US$13.1 billion).

AI has been widely used across almost all sectors of tourism, and digital transformation in housekeeping would help give travellers more options in selecting favourite destinations in Việt Nam by the use of advanced digital technological applications and for things like choosing ‘green’ tour services as well, she said.

Nguyễn Quang, deputy president of Việt Nam Hotel Association, shares a presentation on AI applications in housekeeping management and tourism. Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Hotel Association

Nguyễn Thanh Bình from the National Tourism Administration said AI, digital transformation is seen as a do-or-die for sustainable development of tourism in global trends.

She said travellers are looking for tour information, accommodation, reservations and tickets, all online, while digitalisation will create forms of tourism promotion, enabling a broader reach, online reviews sharing and feedback on tour services.

Bình said Việt Nam is looking to welcome between 25 to 28 million international tourists and 130 domestic travellers in 2025, contributing from eight to nine per cent of GDP.

The housekeeping segment plans to provide 1.3 million hotel rooms and 6.3 million jobs in 2025, so AI and digital transformation will be a key solution in reaching that target.

The deputy president of Việt Nam Hotel Association Nguyễn Quang, stressed that housekeeping services in the AI era require strong technology-based management and human resources to match what discerning travellers demand.

“Investment in AI and technology is a strategic solution for long-term and sustainable growth in tourism. It is expensive with the initial invesment, but it would earn a lot of benefit and positive opportunities in term of revenue, competition and attraction,” Quang said.

He also warned that automation would limit real experiences and balance of culture and technology, while current out of date technological systems in tourism will find difficulties when applying AI solutions.

Quang, however, appreciated that AI and digital transformations are giving a new dramatic growth in tourism in various terms of optimisation, cost savings and estimation of future demands through data.

Chatbots, chathubs, multi-language interpretation devices, robots used in restaurants, receptions and transportation, automated check-in and check-out systems, have all been used by many hotels and resorts in offering around-the-clock service.

The Đà Nẵng-based Ariyana international Convention Centre invested $15,000 in a robotic ‘event assistant’, Ms. Ariyana for every stage of the event process, including welcoming and guiding attendees to designated areas, transporting drinks, towels, brochures and magazines, to providing event schedules and service information. — VNS