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Within the framework of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2025 in Malaysia, the ASEAN Tourism Awards 2025 ceremony and the ATF 2025 Closing Ceremony were successfully held with the theme "Unity in Action – Shaping the ASEAN Tourism of Tomorrow".
The awards ceremony aims to honor units and localities with high-quality tourism products and services, promoting the sustainable development of tourist destinations in the region. Seventeen representatives from Vietnam were honored to be included in this list.
In the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism (CBT) Award category, Con Chim Community Tourism (Tra Vinh province) was honored to be one of five Vietnamese entities to receive this award. Con Chim Community Tourism began operating in late 2019, but due to the impact of COVID-19, its potential wasn't fully realized until the end of 2022, becoming a typical green tourism destination in the Mekong Delta, attracting a large number of tourists. Con Chim has consistently been a popular destination for travel agencies both within and outside the province when bringing tourists to Tra Vinh in recent years.
Come to Con Chim Island to enjoy the fresh air and feel the warmth of the local people.
Surrounded by the Co Chien River, mangrove forests, and rows of water coconut trees, Con Chim Island has a natural area of 62 hectares with 54 households and over 200 inhabitants. Unlike the typical orchards of the Southwestern Mekong Delta, Con Chim Island offers visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature, learn about and experience the "harmonious" way of life, enjoy traditional Southern Vietnamese cuisine, and participate in folk games.
Nestled beside Hoa Minh islet, Con Chim Island, viewed from above, resembles a small bird swooping down to hunt for prey.
This sun-drenched, windswept land of Tra Vinh province is becoming increasingly well-known for its community-based tourism model, where local people have the opportunity to show their warmth and hospitality to travelers.
In addition, five other destinations are included in the list: Huu Lien Community Tourism Area (Huu Lung District, Lang Son Province), Hong Van Tourist Area (Hanoi), Toom Sara Village (Da Nang), and Nam Giang Co Tu Community Tourism Cooperative (Quang Nam).
The ASEAN Homestay Award recognized the following homestay clusters: Tha village (Phuong Do, Ha Giang), Yen Thinh commune (Huu Lung, Lang Son), Thai Hai ethnic minority ecological stilt house village (Thai Nguyen), Duong Lam ancient village (Hanoi), and Giong Trom (Binh Dai, Ben Tre).
The Tha village homestay cluster in Phuong Do commune, Ha Giang city, is honored to be one of 5 units representing Vietnam to receive the ASEAN Homestay Award 2025.
Located more than 5 km from the center of Ha Giang City, Tha village is home to ethnic minorities, with 99% of the population being Tay people. Here, traditional stilt houses are still preserved amidst stunning natural landscapes, offering many experiences and leaving a lasting impression on visitors.
Receiving the ASEAN Homestay Award is an honor for the locality and also an opportunity to promote the community tourism brand of Ha Giang province to the world.
In the ASEAN Spa Service Awards category, many spas at high-end resorts were honored, including Six Senses Con Dao Spa & Wellness Village (Six Senses Con Dao, Ba Ria Vung Tau), Yoko Onsen Spa (Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh, Quang Ninh), An Spa (Da Nang), Akoya Spa (Vinpearl Resort & Golf Nam Hoi An, Quang Nam), and KARA SPA (Caravelle Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City).
The ASEAN Public Restroom Award was given to the Public Restroom at Saigon SkyDeck Observatory (Bitexco, Ho Chi Minh City) and Van Thinh Rest Stop (Ho Chi Minh City). The award for best ASEAN tourism journalism went to AboutAsia Travel from the Asian Tourism Development Institute (Hanoi).
The ASEAN Tourism Awards serve as a passport for Vietnamese businesses to expand into the international market. Being recognized will enhance the prestige and brand of participating businesses, building trust among tourists. This, in turn, contributes to making Vietnam a strong and attractive tourism brand on the global tourism map.
This is a great opportunity to affirm the increasingly strong position of Vietnam's tourism industry on the international stage.
2024 was a hugely successful year for Vietnam's tourism industry, with an impressive 17.6 million international visitors, a 40% increase compared to the previous year. This demonstrated Vietnam's undeniable appeal to global tourists. This result propelled Vietnam to third place in Southeast Asia, behind only two tourism powerhouses: Thailand (over 35 million visitors) and Malaysia (over 22.4 million visitors).
