Digital travel platform Agoda has announced its 2025 Travel Trends Survey, highlighting a strong focus on family vacations, relaxation experiences and exploration of new destinations, which are driving significant growth in Asia’s tourism sector.

Holiday-makers are prioritising quality time with their family members, and seeking respite from daily routines. Some 39% of surveyed Vietnamese travellers plan to take family trips this year, viewing the journeys as opportunities to strengthen familial bonds. Theme parks have become a popular choice among Vietnamese tourists.

Meanwhile, solo travel and couple getaways maintain strong appeal, with many citing escape from bustling life as their primary motivation. Workations – a combination of work and vacation – has gained rising popularity as more enterprises embrace flexible working policies.

Travel inspiration among Vietnamese stems from personal interests, passions, budget considerations, and recommendations from friends and families, among others.

Reports from other travel agencies showed that digital technology has revolutionise the ways Vietnamese travellers plan their trips, with families turning to mobile applications for journey organisation. Besides, social media continues to exert its influence over travel decisions.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Tourism reported robust digital adoption rates, with online booking in 2024 rising 33% against the previous year and cashless payment reaching 91.14%. Digital transformation has not only created favourable conditions for tourists but also helped the industry obtain encouraging achievements in 2024.

The city welcomed 6 million foreign tourist arrivals last year and 38 million domestic visitors, up 20% and 8.6%, respectively, from 2023, generating VND190 trillion (nearly US$7.5 billion) in tourism revenue.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung said the city will step up digital transformation in tourism management and marketing while focusing on enhancing product quality and diversification as well as promoting regional partnerships to capitalise on emerging travel trends.

Travel firms need to complete and improve service quality and develop new products aligned with tourists’ preferences, he said, laying stress on the significance of human resources training and rational policies to making tourism a spearhead economic sector.