A B2B session between Việt Nam and Japan tourism business representatives at a seminar in HCM City on Friday. — VNS Photo Hồng Linh

HCM CITY — A seminar was held in HCM City on Friday to promote tourism between Japan and Việt Nam, with the participation of over 50 business representatives from both nations.

According to Lê Trương Hiền Hòa, Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Tourism, Japan is a key market for the city’s tourism. Japanese visitors reached 300,000 in 2024 and nearly 385,000 in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 28 per cent from 2022 to 2025.

Hòa also highlighted the city's potential in MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) tourism, saying that this sector is a competitive advantage for attracting foreign visitors to the city and has received support through a city programme launched last year.

He noted that the city would continue to promote festivals, cultural exchanges and tourism programmes to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Takebe Tsutomu, Special Advisor to the Japan–Việt Nam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, said at the 2024 Việt Nam–Japan Summit, both nations had set an annual goal of 2 million two-way tourist arrivals. With current positive momentum, he expressed confidence that this goal would be achieved soon.

He also expected that this seminar would be an opportunity for Vietnamese and Japanese tourism firms to create fruitful connections.

According to Matsumoto Fumi, Chief Representative of the Japan National Tourism Organisation in Việt Nam, Vietnamese visitors to Japan reached 52,800 this January, a 4.7 per cent increase year-on-year and a record high for the period.

Currently, around 80 per cent of the Vietnamese outbound market consists of first-time visitors, indicating significant untapped potential. 

However, Japan faces overtourism as visitors remain concentrated on the "Golden Route" (a travel itinerary of popular tourism spots for first-time visitors to Japan) and peak seasons such as cherry blossoms (March–April) and autumn foliage (October–November).

She shared that to address this, Japan aimed for sustainable tourism by balancing visitor comfort with the harmony of local communities.

In addition, on the occasion of the Japan–Việt Nam Festival, a charter flight between HCM City and Sapporo had been launched, she added.

The seminar also featured a B2B matching session with 29 representatives from Japan and 36 from Việt Nam. — VNS