2007 Tourism sector Outlook for Vietnam

Vietnam, the most populous country on the Indo-Chinese mainland with a population of 84.4 million (est. 2006), has started an aggressive push to enhance its already growing tourism industry. At Globalysis, we believe that Vietnam's tourism sector growth will be one of the key stories in the Asia tourist sector in 2007, and we believe that this growth will be largely driven by substantial foreign direct investments.

Visitor arrivals to Vietnam have been growing steadily for at least the past decade with the exception of 2003, when the bird flu scare hit. In calendar year 2005, international visitor arrivals reached 3.47 million, and edged slightly higher to 3.58 million visitors in 2006 (Source: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism). We believe Vietnam's international visitor arrivals will continue a positive growth path.

While the tourism sector is now relatively underdeveloped, the future holds potential for significant growth: the Vietnamese government is aggressively pursuing macroeconomic stability and consistent economic progress; the land possesses vast areas of untouched natural beauty as well as 3,000 kilometers of beachfront area; and the Vietnamese culture is unique. In part because of these factors, Globalysis believes that Vietnam has the potential to be one of the most promising tourism growth markets in Asia. We also believe that Vietnam could continue to experience strong growth in tourism arrivals over the next 5 to 10 years if the government remains committed to developing the nation's tourism sector while further opening up Vietnam's economy.

This report offers a current analysis on the outlook of Vietnam's tourism sector for 2007, including insight to its casino gaming, hotel lodging and airline industries.