At a two-day Hospitality Investment Conference, organised for the first time in Vietnam on Tuesday, delegates discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the burgeoning hospitality industry in the country.

The networking and business-matching event is being held to promote dialogue among hotel owners, operators and managers, developers and investors.

Vietnam has quickly become one of the most talked-about destinations in the region, with recent statistics showing an increase in occupancy, and average daily rates and revenue per room.

Several of the Vietnamese government’s initiatives, including visa easing policies, improvements in aviation, and development of the marine tourism sector and other new destinations, have all contributed to spurring tourism growth.

Ha Van Sieu, deputy director general of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, told foreign industry insiders that the country received 4.7 million international tourists during the first six months of the year.

The number of foreign travellers is expected to be at least nine million for the year, and international arrivals are expected to reach 15 million by 2020.

Tourism contributes 6.6 per cent of national Gross Domestic Product, with large-scale tourism and hospitality projects and many international hotel brands available in Vietnam, Sieu added.

In the first half of 2015, Vietnam tourism experienced a downward trend, which reversed in July of that year. It fully recovered in 2016, achieving a year-on-year growth rate of 22 per cent in the first five months this year.

Chu Wee Phong, executive vice president of Singapore Press Holding Ltd., said the Vietnamese government’s policies had attracted local and foreign investors who remained confident about the country.

The number of hotels and guesthouses in Vietnam has increased sharply in recent years, with a total of 19,000 hotels and 390,000 rooms. Of the number, 100 are five-star hotels, 229 are four-star and 463 are three-star.

Besides calling for more investment in hotels, resorts and restaurants, the VNAT leader also urged investment in training for tourism and hospitality employees, many of whom do not meet international standards.