Vietnam’s resort real estate market is entering a new phase of development, with legal transparency, product quality, operational capabilities, and actual performance increasingly becoming key factors determining a project’s appeal, experts said.
Resort real estate still faces bottlenecks
Nguyen Van Khoi, chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association, said resort real estate was not simply a property investment product, but also a means of leveraging tourism resources, creating jobs, increasing budget revenues, supporting urban development, attracting investment, and promoting the country’s image.
However, the market still faces several bottlenecks, Khoi told the “Vietnam Tourism and Resort Real Estate Forum 2026” held in Danang city on Wednesday.
The legal framework remains fragmented, with relevant provisions spread across multiple laws, while some newer property types such as condotels, resort villas, wellness real estate, and eco-resorts have yet to be regulated in a comprehensive and consistent manner.
“Planning in some localities also remains inadequate and does not fully reflect actual demand, resulting in supply-demand imbalances. Transport, electricity, water supply and environmental treatment infrastructure at some projects is incomplete,” Khoi stressed.
Moreover, developers face difficulties accessing capital, particularly for projects with long payback periods, while long-term funding channels remain underdeveloped.
Nguyen Van Khoi, chairman of the Vietnam Real Estate Association. Photo by The Investor/Thanh Van.
Another bottleneck is market confidence. Khoi said confidence needs to be further strengthened through policy stability and legal transparency.
Vuong Duy Dung, deputy director of the department of housing and real estate market management under the Ministry of Construction, described resort real estate as an important segment of the tourism industry. However, the legal framework governing investment in tourism still needs further improvement.
Products such as condotels and resort villas play a role in expanding accommodation and tourism service infrastructure, Dung said. To ensure transparent development and sustainable operations, developers must comply with regulations throughout the entire process, from planning, design and construction to commercial operations.
Vuong Duy Dung, deputy director of the department of housing and real estate market management under the Ministry of Construction. Photo by The Investor/Thanh Van.
No room for inefficient projects
Pham Quang Vinh, a former Deputy Foreign Minister, said current investment trends showed that foreign investors were increasingly focused on legal transparency, green and sustainable development, and actual project performance.
Tourism and resort real estate is also no longer viewed simply as accommodation facilities. Instead, projects need to form integrated ecosystems combining leisure, services, ecological environments, technology, and experiential value.
Vinh said the development mindset also needs to change. Rather than simply selling resort properties, businesses should seek to jointly create, operate and share benefits with stakeholders.
“Products must have real value, rather than creating expectations about future space or profits without a solid basis in actual operating performance,” he noted. “At the same time, clear standards are needed for the operation and quality of resort properties and their accompanying services.”
Pham Quang Vinh, former Deputy Foreign Minister. Photo by The Investor/Thanh Van.
Dung added that going forward, Vietnam would continue to refine regulations governing investment in and the development of tourism real estate, particularly issues related to commercial and service land, land-use terms, ownership of buildings, and procedures for obtaining ownership certificates.
Authorities should also review and classify projects based on their legal status, progress, developer capacity and operating potential. Eligible projects should be accelerated, while projects whose developers lack the necessary capacity could be transferred or restructured. At the same time, new project development should be controlled in areas where supply is already high but absorption capacity is low.
Another key requirement is greater transparency over legal status, land, ownership of buildings, project progress, management and operations, revenue and costs. Operating performance should be regarded as a decisive factor in a project’s sustainability, rather than focusing solely on sales.
In particular, authorities need to strengthen market forecasting and regulation based on data on supply, transactions, occupancy rates, tourist arrivals and economic and tourism indicators. This would gradually shift resort real estate development away from trend-driven expansion toward development based on planning, market demand, service quality, and actual operating performance.
The tourism and resort real estate market is showing further signs of recovery. Photo by The Investor/Thanh Van.
From a local government perspective, Danang Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee Le Quang Nam said the city’s goal was not simply to increase visitor numbers, but more importantly to raise the value generated by tourism so that visitors stay longer, experience more, spend more, and want to return.
Resort real estate must therefore contribute to creating new tourism products, improving destination quality, generating jobs, and delivering tangible benefits to local communities, Nam said.
The market in the coming period should focus on three requirements: clear, open and transparent legal status; project development aligned with planning, infrastructure and the city’s capacity to accommodate growth; and improvements in product quality, operational capabilities and destination identity, he added.
Danang will continue reviewing its planning and projects and strengthen coordination across land, investment, construction, environmental protection, fire prevention and tourism agencies, Nam noted. “The city welcomes investors with a long-term vision, financial strength, technology, management expertise and social responsibility, based on compliance with the law, openness, transparency and clearly defined responsibilities and deadlines.”
“The principle is not to legalize violations, but neither should eligible applications be delayed because of poor coordination. At the same time, we will not trade the environment, landscape, urban order or public interests for short-term growth,” Nam said.