(TITC) – On 27 June, Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Lam Thi Phuong Thanh led the Vietnamese delegation to the 13th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM13) in Macao, China.
The delegation also included leaders and officials from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, the International Cooperation Department, and the Ministry’s Office.
The meeting reviewed APEC tourism cooperation, including progress on the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan and travel facilitation initiatives. Discussions focused on four priorities: leveraging digital technology and AI for socio-economic growth, advancing technological innovation in tourism, promoting seamless travel through regional cooperation, and ensuring smart tourism benefits local communities.
Addressing the meeting, Minister Lam Thi Phuong Thanh welcomed the theme of digital innovation in tourism, emphasizing that digital transformation and AI are reshaping tourism toward smarter, more sustainable, and visitor-centric development. She also praised APEC’s research on travel facilitation and the Tourism Working Group’s implementation of the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan.
The Minister highlighted Vietnam’s strong tourism recovery, with 21.2 million international visitor arrivals and 137 million domestic tourists in 2025, generating VND 1 quadrillion (USD 39 billion) in tourism revenue. In the first five months of 2026, Vietnam welcomed 10.6 million international visitor arrivals, up nearly 15% year-on-year.
She noted that Vietnam has introduced policies to accelerate science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, while developing a smart tourism ecosystem with digital platforms for governance, promotion, business support, and enhanced visitor experiences.
To advance digital transformation across the APEC tourism sector, Vietnam proposed five priorities: (i) Investing in digital infrastructure, platforms, and tourism data ecosystems; (ii) Establishing mechanisms for data sharing and common standards; (iii) Developing a digitally skilled tourism workforce; (iv) Applying digital innovation to cultural tourism and destination branding; and (v) Strengthening cooperation and knowledge sharing on digital tourism, cultural tourism, and the creative economy.
On this occasion, she also invited APEC Ministers and international partners to attend the High-level Dialogue on Cultural and Creative Industries, to be held in Da Nang in June 2027 during APEC Vietnam 2027, featuring discussions on cultural tourism, creative industries, and digital innovation.
Reaffirming Vietnam’s commitment to regional cooperation, the Minister pledged to work with APEC economies, international organizations, and the technology sector to promote innovation and develop a practical roadmap for digital transformation and AI integration in tourism.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of the Chair’s Statement by host economy China. Delegates also agreed that Mexico will host the 14th APEC Tourism Ministerial Meeting (TMM14) in 2028.
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