A year-end in-depth interview with Dr. Pham Ha – Founding President & CEO, LuxGroup
As 2025 comes to a close, Vietnam’s tourism industry reaches a historic turning point. For the first time, the country has welcomed more than 20 million international visitors, a milestone that marks not only recovery, but a decisive return of global confidence. Vietnam is once again perceived as a safe, stable, and inspiring destination in an increasingly competitive Asia–Pacific landscape.
In this context, our conversation with Dr. Pham Ha, Founding President & CEO of LuxGroup®, moves beyond a conventional year-end review. It is a strategic reflection on where Vietnam stands today, how it must think differently for the next five years, and what kind of nation it aspires to become by 2045—the centennial of independence.
2025: From Recovery to Strategic Transition
“2025 should not be remembered as a year of recovery,” Dr. Pham Ha begins, “but as a year of transition in mindset.”
Crossing the 20-million-visitor threshold is psychologically significant. It signals that Vietnam has re-entered the global tourism conversation with credibility and momentum. Yet numbers alone, he cautions, can be misleading.
“If we continue to rely on old growth formulas—mass tourism, low prices, short stays—then even 25 or 30 million visitors will not deliver proportional value. On the contrary, they may accelerate environmental pressure, strain infrastructure, and dilute cultural identity.”
For him, 2025 forces a fundamental question upon the industry:
Do we want more tourists—or better tourism?
The answer, he argues, must be a decisive shift from volume-led growth to value-led development: longer stays, higher spending, deeper cultural engagement, and more meaningful connections between visitors and destinations.
Nearly 20 Years of LuxGroup®: Building “Great Little Giants”
Looking back at the 2005–2025 journey, Dr. Pham Ha describes LuxGroup® not as a large corporation, but as a constellation of what he calls “great little giants.”
Rather than building one oversized, rigid organization, LuxGroup® has intentionally developed multiple focused brands—each relatively small in scale, yet world-class in expertise, standards, and cultural depth. Whether in luxury travel design, boutique cruising, gastronomy, transportation, or cultural performance, each unit is designed to excel in a narrow field while sharing common values and systems.
“The real achievement,” he explains, “is not scale, but replicability. We have learned how to replicate people, service culture, operational discipline, and international trust—without copying anyone else.”
This model has given LuxGroup® resilience across economic cycles and crises, allowing it to grow steadily while preserving its soul. It also sets the foundation for the next phase: growth driven by systems, data, and leadership succession, rather than by individual effort alone.
Redefining Vietnamese Luxury: Depth Over Display
Dr. Pham Ha is clear in rejecting the notion that luxury equals extravagance.
“True luxury,” he says, “is cultural depth, emotional refinement, and a sense of being genuinely seen and respected.”
Vietnam, in his view, already possesses the raw material of a world-class luxury destination: ancient heritage, diverse landscapes, refined cuisine, layered history, and a deeply human narrative. The challenge lies not in supply, but in storytelling.
“To go global, Vietnam must tell its story in the most elegant way—through personalized journeys, thoughtful pacing, aesthetic restraint, and real responsibility toward communities and nature. Competing on price is the fastest way to lose that story.”
The 5G Framework: Strategy With a Moral Compass
At the heart of LuxGroup®’s roadmap lies its 5G strategy—a framework that integrates business ambition with ethical discipline:
• Green – Sustainability as a system requirement, embedded across design, procurement, operations, and partnerships.
• Digital – Technology used to enhance emotion and personalization, ensuring that data serves experience, not the other way around.
• Global – International standards in governance and service, combined with a distinctly Vietnamese narrative.
• Proud – A confident embrace of Vietnamese identity, avoiding mechanical imitation of foreign luxury models.
• Go Happiness – Happiness measured and managed as a long-term performance indicator for guests, employees, and host communities.
This approach allows LuxGroup® to engage the luxury and high-value segment—typically only about 5% of total arrivals, yet responsible for a disproportionate share of economic, reputational, and sustainability impact.
35 Million Visitors by 2030: The Quality Equation
Vietnam’s ambition to reach 35 million international visitors by 2030 is both bold and realistic, provided infrastructure, air connectivity, visa policy, and product quality continue to evolve. Still, Dr. Pham Ha insists that the real challenge is not reaching the number, but managing its composition.
“In every mature destination, premium travelers represent a minority, but they shape the image, standards, and long-term health of the industry,” he notes. “If Vietnam attracts guests who stay longer, spend more, and care about culture and sustainability, the benefits multiply—even without maximizing headcount.”
Success, in this sense, is measured less by arrivals and more by return intent—how many visitors leave Vietnam wanting to come back.
2026–2030: The First Five Years That Decide Twenty
For LuxGroup®, the period from 2026 to 2030 is not just another planning cycle. It is the first decisive chapter of the Vision 2045 journey.
These five years focus on three actions: laying foundations, accelerating responsibly, and standardizing the ecosystem. ESG integration, digital transformation, leadership development, and brand coherence are prioritized to ensure that future expansion never erodes identity or trust.
Growth targets remain ambitious, but disciplined. Financial quality, brand equity, and long-term resilience take precedence over rapid scale.
Vision 2045: Going Global Through Culture and Happiness
By 2045—the centennial of Vietnam’s independence—Dr. Pham Ha envisions LuxGroup® as a respected Asian benchmark for Vietnamese luxury hospitality. Not the largest group, but the most trusted and culturally meaningful within its segment.
More broadly, he believes Vietnam can position luxury not as an elite niche, but as a national signature—defined by culture, humanity, and sustainability.
A Final Reflection
As 2025 closes, Dr. Pham Ha describes the moment as one of pride tempered by responsibility. Much has been achieved, yet the road to 2045 is long.
“The ships we build today, the people we nurture today, and the values we protect today will define Vietnam’s place in the world for decades,” he says.
LuxGroup® has chosen the harder path: not the fastest, but the most sustainable; not the biggest, but the most meaningful; not the wealthiest, but the happiest. If each journey can become a lasting memory—and a small piece of future heritage—that, he concludes, is success in its truest form.