Viet Nam climbs seven spots to 52nd in WEF tourism index

The country's score reached 4.15, up 6.1 percent from 2024. The index assesses the factors and policies that create the conditions for a sustainable and resilient tourism sector, rather than measuring tourism performance through indicators such as visitor arrivals, spending or revenue.

The index comprises five dimensions, 17 pillars and 102 indicators, covering the enabling environment, tourism policy and favorable conditions, infrastructure and services, travel resources, and tourism sustainability. Indicators are standardized on a scale of 1 to 7 to facilitate comparisons among economies.

In Southeast Asia, Viet Nam ranked fifth, behind Singapore (13th), Indonesia (23rd), Malaysia (26th) and Thailand (38th). However, Viet Nam recorded the strongest score improvement among the five, with a 6.1 percent increase, compared with 3.3 percent for Singapore, 2.2 percent for Indonesia, and 5.8 percent each for Malaysia and Thailand.

Seven tourism pillars rank among global top performers

Viet Nam had seven pillars in the global top 35 in 2026, compared with four in 2024.

Price competitiveness was ranked seventh globally, while safety and security came ninth. According to VNAT, the two pillars rose eight and 18 places, respectively, reflecting the WEF's assessment of Viet Nam's political and social stability and security amid global uncertainties.

Other pillars in the global top 35 were cultural resources (21st), natural resources (22nd), travel demand sustainability (27th), non-leisure resources (30th), and air transport infrastructure (34th).

Several pillars also posted notable improvements from 2024. Air transport infrastructure rose nine places, ground and port infrastructure 10 places, cultural resources six places, and natural resources four places. Environmental sustainability advanced 18 places, while travel demand sustainability recorded the largest gain, rising 24 places to 27th.

Six other pillars were placed in the upper-middle group, ranking between 36th and 70th globally. They included ground and port infrastructure (43rd), workforce and labor market (50th), ICT readiness (58th), business environment (63rd), tourism openness (67th), and health and hygiene (68th).

Overall, 13 of Viet Nam's 17 pillars ranked from the upper-middle to the global top tier.

Four pillars were placed in the lower-middle or low groups: tourism infrastructure and services (74th), environmental sustainability (76th), travel prioritization (97th), and the socio-economic impact of tourism (106th).

The latest index results highlight improvements across a range of factors underpinning Viet Nam's tourism development, while also pointing to areas where further efforts are needed to strengthen infrastructure, sustainability and the broader socio-economic benefits of tourism./.