From Small Seeds To Big Trees: Cultivating A Responsible Workforce For Vietnam’s Tourism
The Encounter And A Shared Vision
My name is Do Tran Phuong, a lecturer at Hanoi University of Culture. For over 20 years, I have dedicated my life to researching and teaching Culture and Tourism in Viet Nam. Throughout this journey, I have always wondered: Why does a nation so rich in heritage and natural beauty struggle to reach its full potential? There may be many reasons, but one crucial factor is the shortage of high-quality human resources in the tourism industry.
In 2020, I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Mr. Nguyễn Xuân Trung, Director of the Tam Chúc National Tourist Area, it changed everything. We shared a deep concern: tourism is Vietnam's strength, but its sustainability depends entirely on how we train the next generation. Together with Mr. Nguyen Duc Ba, we launched the "Talent Incubator for Culture and Tourism Programme". Our mission was: Together, we can nurture the young talents so that from small, good seed, they grow into big trees in the future.
The Foundation: Five Core Values
After extensive discussions, planning, and preparation, the project was officially launched in 2020. The executive board built a project based on five pillars:
Knowledge;
Experience;
Creativity;
Humanity;
Sharing & Spreading.
We didn't just want to produce employees; we wanted to nurture "Cultural Ambassadors" who understand that culture is not a decorative background, but the living identity and soul of a destination.
Bridging the Gap: From Theory to Impact
From 2021 to 2025, after five years of operation and continuous effort, the project has achieved remarkable results:
Established connections with hundreds of scholars and researchers from Vietnam and abroad;
Collaborated with hundreds of colleges, universities, and academies nationwide;
Provided training for thousands of students annually on topics such as history, culture, religion, fine arts, tourism, hospitality, foreign languages, and soft skills;
Organized the Student Cultural Tourism Ambassador Contest;
Held the Creative Ideas Contest for Cultural Tourism Products and Tourism Communication;
Hosted the Creative Video Contest to Promote Vietnam’s Culture and Tourism;
Organized international conferences;
Provided domestic field trips for students;
Facilitated international study and exchange programs for students;
Developed an online learning platform;
Hosted job fairs;
Connected students with businesses, heritage site management boards, and tourism organizations for job opportunities.
One of our proudest achievements is we engaged 2,760 students from 86 universities and colleges across 35 provinces. Training included 25 specialist topics, 5 seminars, and 60 days of online learning, supported by 32 experts and trainers.
To ensure the program reflected the true diversity of Vietnam, we prioritized representation. Among the 185 students selected for intensive training, 65% were women and 20% were from ethnic minority communities. These students didn't just learn; they brought their own ancestral stories and local perspectives to the table, ensuring that the tourism ideas we developed were respectful and authentic.
To achieve this, we seek greater support and collaboration from: Government organizations; Non-governmental organizations; Experts from universities, research institutes, and businesses; and Local communities.
We don't just produce employees; we nurture "Cultural Ambassadors" who understand culture as the living soul of a destination.
Practical Experience And Creative Freedom
We believe that "good seeds need good soil". To provide this, we moved learning into the field. Students explored UNESCO WorldHeritage sites like Trang An and Ha Long, and cultural landmarks like Tam Chuc, and Van Mieu (Temple of Literature). The programme also connected participants with 30 tourism enterprises and related organizations, giving them practical insight into how tourism businesses, destinations, and cultural assets interact.
A key part of this work was reducing cost barriers to participation. Each selected participant received VND 4,000,000(approximately USD 153) to support travel and accommodation during intensive learning activities. Across 185 selected participants, this amounted to around VND 740,000,000 (approximately USD 28,000) indirect participation support, excluding final prize values. This made it possible for students from different regions to access the same field-based cultural learning and development opportunities.
The creative output was staggering. Over five years, participants generated:
600 cultural tourism product ideas many rooted in heritage, local identity, and destination storytelling.190 video concepts promoting cultural tourism, including 10 award-winning works.
22 TEDx-style presentations where young voices shared their vision for responsible tourism. 50 press and media reports covered activities and outputs from the programme.
To support continuation beyond the competition stage, the programme also offered the total prize value reached VND 2 billion (approximately USD 80,000), including cash awards, courses, vouchers, and overseas study tours to Thailand and China to observeglobal best practices in destination management and cultural presentation.
Why This Matters for Responsible Tourism
Viet Nam’s tourism industry has long faced pressure in human resource development. According to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, the sector needs around 40,000 new workers each year, while the education system produces only about 20,000.
Only around 43% of the tourism workforce has received formal professional training, and only 9.7% hold university or postgraduate qualifications related to tourism. The COVID-19 pandemic deepened this gap: tourism businesses cut an estimated 50–70% of their workforce, and around 60–80% of workers left the sector or moved into other industries.
Although tourism later recovered strongly, with more than 108 million domestic trips and over 12.6 million international arrivals in 2023, the workforce did not recover at thesame pace in either quantity or quality. This affected service standards, product innovation, and long-term resilience.
This mattered especially in Viet Nam, where tourism is closely tied to cultural diversity. The country is home to 54 ethnic groups, more than 40,000 cultural heritage sites, and 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Yet this diversity is not always represented well in tourism development.
Cultural heritage can be presented too superficially, local stories can be simplified, and community voicesmay not be fully reflected in tourism experiences. We believe that if tourism contributes positively to cultural diversity, then the people entering thesector must be better prepared to understand culture not as decoration, but as identity, memory, and living practice.
We identified this need through several channels. Feedback from students and universities consistently showed a gap betweenclassroom learning and real- world application, especially in cultural storytelling, destination interpretation, and tourism product design. Tourism businesses and local partners also highlighted the need for young professionals who not only had technical skills, but also understood local culture and community contexts. We also observed a wider shift in tourism demand after COVID- 19, as travellers increasingly sought moreauthentic, local, and experience-based tourism.
This mattered to us because tourism can either flatten cultural differences or help people understand them better. We therefore designed the programme as a learning ecosystem connecting students with cultural knowledge, expert guidance, and real-world experience.
Through this model, we aimed to bridge the gap between theory and practice while encouraging young people to turn cultural understanding into responsible tourism ideas that support cultural pride and more respectful connections between visitors and host communities.
What make us different?
The Talent Incubator for Culture and Tourism Programme is different because it treats cultural diversity not as background content, but as a core skill for future tourism practice. While many tourism programmes focus mainly on technical training or short-termemployability, our approach helps young people understand, interpret, and communicate culture in ways that are respectful, locally grounded, and relevant to real tourism settings.
A second difference is the way we combine national reach with direct cultural engagement. Through a network of 86 universities and colleges across 35 provinces and cities, the programme brings together participants from diverse regional, social, and culturalbackgrounds. Among selected participants, 20% are from ethnic minority communities.
They do not only take part; they also contribute perspectives from their own backgrounds and help shape the ideas and discussions developed through the programme. This means cultural diversity is reflected not only in what is taught, but also in who helps create the content.
The programme also moves participants from learning to interpretation and creation. Students do not only study heritage and local culture; they work with them through field-based learning, expert mentoring, and creative output. This has ledto 600 cultural tourism product ideas, 25 stage presentations, 22 TEDxTalks-style initiatives, and 190 video concepts, showing that participants are active interpreters of culture rather than passive learners.
What further sets it apart is that access is backed by real investment. Each selected participant received VND 4,000,000 (approximately USD 153) for travel and accommodation, and the programme’s total prize value over five years reached VND 2billion (approximately USD 80,000). This creates practical conditions not only for participation, but also for the continued development of strong ideas.
The project engaged 2,760 students from 86 universities, empowering youth to turn cultural understanding into responsible tourism ideas.
A Call For Fertile Soil
Ultimately, the programme does more than train young people for tourism jobs. It helps shape a generation better prepared to champion cultural diversity through tourism. After five years, the Talent Incubator has become more than a project; it is a movement.
We have seen small seeds grow into confident professionals who champion cultural pride and responsible practice. However, the journey does not end here. We aim for a legacy of 10, 20, or 50 years. To sustain this growth, we need the "fertile soil" of collaboration from global experts, local communities, and organizations. Sustainable development is in our hands. Let us nurture these seeds together, for they are the ones who will carry the torch of responsible tourism into the future.
