VIR seminar explores tourism real estate outlook for 2026

VIR seminar explores tourism real estate outlook for 2026

VIR has held a seminar in Hanoi to explore the outlook for Vietnam's tourism real estate market, as robust tourism growth creates new opportunities and unlocks significant potential for investors.

The seminar, titled 'Tourism Real Estate Market 2026: Where Hospitality Meets Cash Flow', took place on June 23. The increasing number of domestic and international visitors has driven the emergence of new destinations and large-scale resort developments, opening up significant growth potential for investors.

Vietnam’s tourism industry has experienced robust growth over the years, creating positive spillover effects for the tourism real estate sector. The increasing number of both domestic and international visitors has driven the emergence of new destinations and large-scale resort developments, unlocking significant opportunities and growth potential for investors.

Following a fast-paced growth phase, the tourism real estate market is undergoing a significant adjustment and consolidation process. Investor confidence for some hospitality product lines has yet to fully recover. Capital costs, input costs, and financial pressure continue to be major challenges for businesses. At the same time, the market sets higher requirements for transparency, operational efficiency, and operational capabilities.

Addressing the seminar, Pham Van Hoanh, VIR’s editor-in-chief, said, “Despite market difficulties, there are some important foundations for tourism real estate to develop.”

He cited the latest data showing that the market recorded 63 resort villa projects with more than 2,500 units launched for sale in May alone, alongside 49 condotel projects offering more than 5,000 units. Many projects have been completed or are eligible for operation.

The figures show the investment and project development activities underway. Supply has yet to be disrupted as many feared.

In the long term, the market will benefit from accelerated public investment, increasingly developed transport infrastructure, steady inflows of foreign investment, and a recovering tourism industry. These are the important foundations for tourism real estate.

Beyond positive signals, the market is facing numerous hurdles, including high capital costs, the tightening control of real estate credit, and the pressure of corporate bond maturity in the 2026-2027 period. This is coupled with the persistent legal obstacles across many projects.

The government has taken drastic measures to remove challenges for the market by completing the legal framework related to land, housing, and real estate business. It has issued policies to resolve obstacles while also managing them in a more flexible manner.

“However, it is important to implement the policies effectively in practice. How can resources be unlocked? How can eligible projects be implemented faster? And how can the confidence of businesses and investors be restored sustainably?” Hoanh said.

According to the editor-in-chief, the next cycle of market growth will not be driven by rapid growth or excessive financial leverage. Instead, market dynamics will come from genuine tourism demand, project execution capacity, asset utilisation efficiency, operational quality, and market transparency.

This trend prompts businesses to restructure to adapt to the changes. While investors must change their approach, the market must operate on a more disciplined and sustainable foundation.

At the seminar, panel discussions highlighted some of the market’s most pressing issues, including constraints on capital flows, the effectiveness of policy implementation, and the key drivers that will shape the next growth cycle. Regulatory bodies, experts, and the business community also put forward feasible solutions to unlock resources, strengthen market confidence, and create a more transparent and stable investment environment.

VIR