In the past decade, Vietnam’s tourism has accomplished many an important achievement, that is, the number of foreign tourists has reached over five million, tourist receipts contribute about 6% of GDP, and many Vietnam’s natural sights have been recognized and placed in the top ten of attractive places in the world. Yet, Vietnam’s tourism is facing a great deal of challenges hindering its development. Thus, this paper is to investigate achievements and challenges facing the Vietnam’s tourism and then proposes six solutions to its sustainable development. | RESEARCHES & DISCUSSIONS During the past ten years, the development of Vietnam’s tourism industry has brought about a huge source of foreign exchange for budget income, created jobs for millions of laborers, and stimulated the development of many related industries like transportation, construction, civil aviation, and banking, etc. Tourism also helps tourists know more about a country’s history and culture, and its economic potentials. In the past decade, Vietnam’s tourism has accomplished many an important achievement, that is, the number of foreign tourists has reached over five million, tourist receipts contribute about 6% of GDP, and many Vietnam’s natural sights have been recognized and placed in the top ten of attractive places in the world. Yet, Vietnam’s tourism is facing a great deal of challenges hindering its development. Thus, this paper is to investigate achievements and challenges facing the Vietnam’s tourism and then proposes six solutions to its sustainable development. Keywords: tourism products, attractions, resources, workforce, environment 1. Evaluating the performance of Vietnam’s tourism in the period 2001-2010 Of the 181 countries and territories surveyed by the World Travel and Tourist Council (WTTC), Vietnam’s tourism is ranked 47th in terms of general development, 54th for contributions to the national economy, and 12th in light of long-term growth. Currently, Vietnam is among the top five countries with developed tourism industry in ASEAN. In time to come, Vietnam’s tourism is getting higher rungs of the success ladder. In terms of flows of tourist, Vietnam’s tourism has come under the spotlight when its total number of both foreign and domestic tourists rose from 14,030,050 persons in 2001 to 33,049,855 in 2010; the number of foreign ones increased by times and domestic ones times. Most of foreign tourists arriving in Vietnam are from China, Korea, the , Japan, and Taiwan. In 2010, the number of foreign tourists traveling
