HÀ NỘI — The tourism real estate market is entering a new phase of restructuring in which operational performance and cash-flow generation, rather than rapid expansion and financial leverage, will determine project value and competitiveness, industry experts said at a conference on Tuesday.

Speaking at the seminar, organised by the Tài Chính-Đầu Tư Newspaper, participants said tourism real estate has been a major beneficiary of Việt Nam's tourism boom over the past decade, with large-scale resort developments emerging alongside rising domestic and international visitor numbers.

However, the sector has faced mounting pressures in recent years from global geopolitical uncertainty, protectionist trade trends and shifts in international capital flows. Domestically, the market has been undergoing a period of adjustment following years of rapid growth.

Investor confidence in some resort property segments has yet to fully recover while businesses continue to face high financing and operating costs, they said, adding that despite these challenges, the market has shown signs of resilience. 

Phạm Văn Hoành, editor-in-chief of the Finance-Investment Newspaper, said newly released data showed that Việt Nam had 63 resort villa projects offering 2,526 units for sale in May, up 3 per cent from the previous period. The condotel segment recorded 49 projects with 5,083 units launched, while several developments had been completed or were ready to begin operations.

These figures show that investment and project development activities are continuing and that supply has not been disrupted as many had feared, Hoành said. 

He added that continued public investment, improving transport infrastructure, stable foreign direct investment inflows and a strong recovery in tourism provided a solid foundation for the sector's long-term growth.

However, he noted that high capital costs, tight controls on real estate lending, corporate bond maturities due in 2026-27 and unresolved legal issues at many projects remained significant obstacles.

According to Hoành, the next growth cycle of tourism real estate would no longer be driven by rapid expansion or excessive financial leverage. Instead, growth would come from real tourism demand, project execution capability, asset utilisation efficiency, operational quality and market transparency.

Associate Professor Trần Kim Chung of the Academy of Finance said the completion of the tourism development planning framework had created an important foundation for the recovery of tourism real estate after a prolonged downturn.

Under national plans, Việt Nam aims to develop three major tourism growth hubs in Hà Nội, HCM City and Đà Nẵng, while expanding tourism corridors and destinations across the country, including Hạ Long, Ninh Bình, Huế, Hội An, Quy Nhơn, Nha Trang, Đà Lạt, Vũng Tàu, Cần Thơ and Phú Quốc.

Chung said the changes in planning are creating a new face for the tourism real estate market.

He added that the sector is also witnessing greater product diversification, ranging from resort apartments and beachfront villas to mixed-use developments combining leisure, healthcare and entertainment services.

Selling prices continued to rise across the market, with asking prices for high-rise properties ranging from VNĐ39 million to VNĐ200 million (US$1,490-7,650) per square metre, up about 10 per cent from a year earlier, while low-rise properties were priced between VNĐ8 billion and VNĐ170 billion per unit, representing an annual increase of around 9 per cent, Chung said.

Việt Nam has also joined a select group of countries offering luxury real estate products, including emerging ultra-luxury developments, he added.

The sector is also benefiting from a strong recovery in tourism demand. Hà Văn Siêu, deputy head of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said Việt Nam welcomed about 10.6 million foreign visitors in the past five months of 2026, up nearly 15 per cent from a year earlier. 

The increase in visitor numbers is creating both opportunities and challenges for the accommodation sector. Việt Nam currently has around 800,000 hotel rooms, including a growing share of four- and five-star properties, Siêu said.

However, changing consumer preferences are pushing operators to focus on personalised experiences and wellness offerings rather than standardised tourism products. Thus, tourism real estate projects would need to improve operational quality and service standards rather than rely solely on large-scale development.

He also noted that about 82 per cent of international visitors arrive by air, creating opportunities for resort developments linked to airport infrastructure and major coastal tourism destinations.

Market shifts from expectations to income generation

Industry executives said the sector's recovery is being driven less by expectations of capital appreciation and more by the ability of projects to generate sustainable revenue.

Trần Diễm My, vice chairwoman of Five Star Group, said tourism real estate supply has been gradually recovering after an extended slowdown, with major developers restarting projects in coastal provinces and tourism hubs.

However, the current recovery is no longer based on expectations of price increases as before, My said, adding that in the new cycle, tourism real estate is no longer valued by expectations but by its ability to attract visitors, generate cash flow and build sustainable trust.

She said investor behaviour had changed markedly, with buyers focusing more on legal status, management operators, occupancy rates, customer demand and actual income-generating capacity rather than guaranteed profit commitments that were once widely marketed.

Restoring investor confidence had become the industry's biggest challenge. That confidence depends on transparent legal procedures, project delivery, construction quality and effective operations, she said.

A resort project only truly succeeds when visitors come, revenue is generated and guests want to return, according to My. 

Chung from the Academy of Finance said sustainable development of the property sector would require further legal reforms to improve consistency across regulations governing land, housing, tourism and planning.

He also called for the development of alternative financing channels, including real estate investment trusts, mutual savings funds, vacation ownership products and other financial instruments to diversify funding sources and reduce reliance on bank lending.

Chung said accelerating the resolution of stalled projects, removing legal bottlenecks, maintaining reasonable interest rates and attracting strategic domestic and foreign investors would be critical to supporting future market growth.

He added that real estate development should be integrated with urban planning, tourism expansion, marine economic development and green transition goals, helping create modern tourism cities, strengthen Việt Nam's competitiveness and support long-term economic growth.

As the market enters a new development cycle, participants at the seminar said the ability to generate stable cash flow, operational efficiency and real asset utilisation will become the key measures of value for tourism real estate projects and a decisive factor in the segment's sustainable recovery. — VNS