Turning potential into products of lasting value
(Chinhphu.vn) In 2005, Pham Ha began his entrepreneurial journey with Luxury Travel, focusing on the luxury tourism market. From its origins in tour operations, the business gradually expanded into cruising, hospitality, gastronomy, art and cultural experiences, forming the LuxGroup® ecosystem.
Throughout this development, he pursued a distinctive approach: creating tourism products rooted in the depth of Vietnamese culture, history and identity, alongside visits to the country’s celebrated destinations.
This approach has shaped Lux Travel DMC’s tailor-made journeys, art-inspired tours, heritage experiences and encounters with local culture and cuisine.
Traditional craft villages, regional produce and historical narratives become part of the travel experience. Guests meet artisans, learn about their techniques and discover the everyday lives and traditions of local communities.
“For an entrepreneur, serving the nation means creating real value, honouring commitments to the market and opening opportunities for more people to move forward together.”
— Dr. Pham Ha
This approach also connects tourism with agriculture, traditional crafts and the creative economy. When agricultural produce becomes a culinary experience and handmade objects become part of a journey of discovery, tourism can generate greater value for producers and local communities.
After more than two decades, Lux Travel DMC now serves over 10,000 luxury travellers from more than 70 countries each year, while maintaining double-digit growth.
The company has also received more than 40 international awards, including recognition from the World Travel Awards, Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards and HR Asia Best Companies to Work For.
In 2025, Pham Ha was recognised at the Vietnam Tourism Awards with the distinction of “Vietnam’s Best International Tour Operator 2025.”
These achievements reflect the company’s gradual development of its products, international markets and position within the luxury travel sector.
Photo caption: Dr. Pham Ha continues to pursue waterborne tourism through the Vietnam Waterways® 2045 vision.
Bringing heritage into business
Heritage Bình Chuẩn is one of the clearest expressions of Pham Ha’s approach. The cruise experience draws inspiration from Bach Thai Buoi, the Vietnamese entrepreneur who left a lasting mark on the country’s water transport industry in the early twentieth century.
In 1919, the Bình Chuẩn vessel was designed, built and launched by Vietnamese people. It made its maiden voyage to Saigon in 1920. More than a century later, Pham Ha drew on the vessel’s story and Bach Thai Buoi’s entrepreneurial spirit to create a tourism product grounded in Vietnamese history.
Through Heritage Bình Chuẩn, the company combines cruising with cultural interpretation, art and heritage storytelling.
Photo caption: Dr. Pham Ha draws on Vietnamese history to develop distinctive tourism experiences.
The vessel illustrates how historical and cultural values can shape a tourism product’s identity, strengthening its appeal beyond facilities and accommodation.
Building on his experience in cruise investment and operations, Pham Ha continues to pursue waterborne tourism through the Vietnam Waterways® 2045 vision.
The ambition is to develop a fleet of 30 “Made in Vietnam” vessels, exploring the country’s finest bays, rivers and coastal routes, with future voyages reaching major tourism cities across Asia.
His investment experience has also shown that expanding this form of tourism depends on more than modern vessels and quality service. It requires suitable ports and terminals, transport connections, and clear rules governing vessel construction, inspection and operation.
He believes that stronger infrastructure and consistent standards would give businesses greater confidence to invest in long-term projects.
Photo caption: Lux Travel DMC now welcomes more than 10,000 luxury travellers from over 70 countries annually.
Building a brand through quality and responsibility
Alongside product development, Pham Ha places considerable emphasis on management and operating standards that meet international market expectations.
In 2025, Lux Travel DMC became the first luxury tour operator in Vietnam to achieve Travelife Certified status, an international sustainability certification requiring rigorous independent auditing. For the company, this recognition represents a commitment to embedding environmental, social and governance principles into its operations and working towards net zero. Its workplace practices have also received recognition from HR Asia.
LuxGroup® identifies five strategic priorities: green development, global market expansion, digital transformation, the celebration of Vietnamese cultural values, and greater happiness for customers and communities.
The company aims to reduce plastic use and emissions, apply artificial intelligence and data analytics to personalise services, and continue developing culture and heritage as sources of competitive advantage.
For Pham Ha, brand building extends throughout the customer experience. A tourism product earns repeat business through consistent quality, convenient access and reliable delivery of its promises.
This requires sustained investment in people: language skills, cultural knowledge, digital competence, service delivery and the ability to respond effectively when difficulties arise. He also emphasises training grounded in daily work, supported by fair working conditions, income and opportunities for professional development.
Digital transformation must likewise deliver practical improvements. It should make booking easier for customers, help employees complete their work more efficiently, strengthen cost control and raise productivity.
Together, these priorities seek to build competitiveness through product quality, capable people and effective operations.
Entrepreneurial responsibility begins with practical action
Beyond business, Pham Ha participates in community initiatives and contributes proposals for the development of Vietnam’s tourism industry. A school clean-water programme in Rào Con, Quảng Trị, is one example he cites when discussing corporate social responsibility.
He believes community support should respond to actual needs and deliver lasting benefits. The usefulness and durability of an initiative matter as much as its scale.
Drawing on his experience as a business leader, he also advocates improvements to waterborne tourism and the night-time economy.
For the latter, he proposes experiences built around performing arts, music, museums, gastronomy, heritage and local culture. Their development should be supported by suitable transport, security, sanitation and environmental management, with careful consideration of residents’ quality of life.
Photo caption: Vietnam Waterways® 2045 envisages a fleet of 30 Vietnamese-made vessels serving river, bay and coastal journeys, with an ambition to reach major tourism ports across Asia.
He argues that the value of these activities should be assessed through practical measures: visitor spending, length of stay, jobs created, business performance and community satisfaction.
From a tour operator to a tourism ecosystem serving travellers from more than 70 countries, Pham Ha’s journey has centred on building Vietnamese brands and finding opportunities in international markets.
For him, the self-reliance of Vietnamese entrepreneurs must be demonstrated through their ability to learn, master technology, meet international standards and create products of value.
“For an entrepreneur, serving the nation means creating real value, honouring commitments to the market and opening opportunities for more people to move forward together,” he says.
On Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Day, 13 October, the story of Dr. Pham Ha—Founding President and CEO of LuxGroup® and Vice President of the Vietnam Green Tourism Association—illustrates an approach to enterprise that connects creativity and business capability with the country’s wider interests.
It is an approach that turns advantages into products, potential into livelihoods and ambition into measurable results. Such capabilities provide a foundation for Vietnamese businesses to strengthen their competitiveness and standing in international markets.
By Diep Anh
