Tan Son Nhat Airport received a bit of a makeover in 2007. The woefully undersized airport was given a new international terminal, funded by a consortium of Japanese investors. The airport can now handle 17 million passengers annually. In 2015, Long Thanh International Airport will open outside of Ho Chi Minh City. It will be able to handle five times the number of flights as the current airport. A rail line and highway will eventually connect the airport with the city center.
A subway and rail line is also in the works for Ho Chi Minh City. The first lines are scheduled to be completed in 2014, with a six-line system becoming fully functional by 2020. In addition, some cities in the country have been making great strides with their roadways. Danang, in the central coastal region of the country, has been engaged in a major project to change its dangerous two-lane highways into wider, safer, smoother roads.
Modern luxury hotels like the New World Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City have been popping up in urban Vietnam over the past decade. Full-sized luxury resorts like the brand new Le Meridien Danang Resort and Spa will further improve the country's image as a legitimate destination for high-end travelers. Such development is not only happening along the coast. Sheraton Dalat Resort, a new 200-room luxury hotel in the country's central mountain region, will give the famous American hotel brand a foothold in Vietnam.
Despite its somewhat authoritarian image, Vietnam has made strides to make it easier for tourists to enter the country. Instead of applying for a visa at a Vietnamese consulate, visitors from most countries, including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, can simply get a visa upon arrival at the airport. Though there is still a fee for the visa, the process has been streamlined. This is one of the examples of policy changes that have helped Vietnam create a more positive image amongst would-be tourists.
Despite all of its upgrades, Vietnam has still retained its image as a budget travel destination. In the past, most of its tourism revenue has come from so-called backpackers, budget travelers who seek cheap accommodations and often travel by bus or motorcycle. This is unlikely to change in the next ten years.
