Viet Nam 's hotel and resort market will become increasingly attractive for tourists and developers in the future, experts from the real estate agents CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE Vietnam) said on July 20 at its conference on the domestic hospitality market in Hanoi .

"Better medium- and long-term investment opportunities in the hotel and resort industry are appearing in Vietnam due to its stunning coastal areas, beautiful high altitude destinations and highly populated cities," said Robert McIntosh, Executive Director of CBRE Hotels in the Asia Pacific region.

"By capitalising on this unexplored country, a number of projects have been successfully completed and launched over the past years, yet Vietnam remains an under-rated market for hospitality investment."

However, the hospitality sector in Vietnam was still a burgeoning industry with rapid and constant changes, he said. As a result, developers could be caught off guard and left unprepared.

The hospitality business in Vietnam had changed since the global economic crisis with clients becoming more demanding as more options become available, said Mauro Gasparotti, CBRE Vietnam Manager of Hospitality Service.

"New projects either under construction or near completion will have to face fiercer competition and more sophisticated clients compared with the past. Hospitality in Vietnam is clearly advancing to a point where the market is ready for the development of more refined products targeting more refined clients," Gasparotti said.

These changes would not necessarily imply higher prices and construction costs, but a better mix of design, quality, prices and services made possible by clear, meticulous and better informed development planning, something rarely seen before in Vietnam , he said.

The local traveller demographic provided enormous potential for resort and hotel development, Gasparotti commented. However, Vietnamese travellers were evolving rapidly so it was important that developers of new and existing properties recognised these changes. Vietnamese clients were not the same as they were a few years ago.

"In spite of the market's volatility, if developers and investors adapt to changes in the market and offer innovative products, I feel very positive about the medium- to long-term development of the hospitality industry in Vietnam ," said McIntosh.

(Source: VNA)