New Policies Drive Tourism Real Estate Growth

Vietnam’s tourism real estate market is entering a new phase after years of regulatory confusion over condotels, officetels, and resort properties. Policymakers and industry experts gathered at a seminar in Hanoi on June 23 to discuss the path forward, as recent legal reforms and rising foreign investment create conditions for growth that weren’t there before.

Legal Roadblocks Are Falling

Phan Duc Hieu, a member of the National Assembly’s Economic and Financial Committee, told attendees that recent legislative changes have cleared many of the obstacles that stalled developments across the country. Key among them: revisions to the Land Law and the Law on Real Estate Business, along with updates to housing regulations. Two resolutions stand out. Resolution No.170/2024/QH15 introduced special mechanisms to address problems with troubled projects and land matters. Resolution No.29/2026/QH16 goes further, expanding those mechanisms to cover more than 3,300 property ventures dealing with land law violations.

The task now, Hieu said, isn’t just fixing old problems. It’s building a legal framework that can handle business models still taking shape.

Foreign Money Is Flowing In

Bui Thu Thuy, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Agency at the Ministry of Finance, pointed to the numbers. Total registered foreign direct investment hit $24.81 billion in the first five months of 2026 — up 34.9 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Disbursed FDI reached $9.75 billion, a 9.6 per cent increase and the highest five-month disbursement level ever seen in the country. Most of that capital went into manufacturing and processing. The property sector, tourism projects especially, is drawing increasing attention from international investors. Vietnam remains a bright spot in the region despite geopolitical uncertainty and shifting global capital flows.

A Clearer Classification System

Hoang Thu Hang from the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department at the Ministry of Construction said the new Land Law has resolved a key issue: how tourism and resort properties are classified. They’re now designated as commercial service land, which gives investors a firmer formal basis for planning projects and long-term strategies.

Land-use terms are set at 50 to 70 years, giving businesses a defined window to plan returns and manage operations.

For many developers, that kind of clarity simply didn’t exist before.

Seven Growth Zones, Ten Tourism Centres

Tran Kim Chung, an expert from the Academy of Finance, outlined the broader vision. Following administrative restructuring after provincial mergers, Vietnam is planning seven strategic growth zones and 10 national tourism centres.

Those hubs will be anchored in cities and destinations with established advantages — Halong, Ninh Binh, Hue, Hoi An, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Dalat, Vung Tau, Can Tho, and Phu Quoc. Master plans at national, regional, and provincial levels are being accelerated, and tourism-focused property is positioned as a central part of the next development cycle.

Investor Trust Still Has Gaps

Nguyen Dinh Tho, deputy director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy for Agriculture and Environment, raised a concern that surfaced repeatedly: the gap between land-use terms and the actual lifespan of these developments. Such assets are bound by the same limits described earlier. Well-maintained resort destinations, though, can generate revenue for far longer — some potentially for centuries. The mismatch makes certain investors uneasy about long-term asset value, and it’s one reason trust hasn’t fully materialized despite the policy improvements.

Tho suggested Vietnam could eventually split this category of property into two groups — long-term ownership and limited-term ownership, similar to what many countries already practice. Tax instruments should also be used to regulate the market rather than relying on term limits alone.

The regulatory foundation is stronger than it’s been in years.

Foreign capital is arriving at record levels. Whether the sector lives up to its potential will depend on how fast the remaining gaps get filled.