UEH Partners with Dong Nai Province to Shape Tourism Development Strategies in the New Context

18 Mar, 2026

On the afternoon of March 16, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH), in collaboration with the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, organized the scientific conference titled “Orientations for Tourism Development in Dong Nai in the New Context.” The event brought together policymakers, experts, and businesses to connect academic insights with practical implementation and co-create sustainable tourism solutions for the locality.

From UEH, attendees included: Dr. Dinh Cong Khai - Vice President of UEH; Assoc. Prof. Trinh Tu Anh - Director of the Institute of Smart City and Management (UEH-ISCM); Dr. Nguyen Duc Tri - Dean of the School of Tourism; Dr. Le Thi Hanh An - Deputy Head the Department of Communications and Partnerships, along with experts, researchers, and lecturers from various UEH units.

From Dong Nai Province, participants included: Mr. Le Truong Son - Member of the Provincial Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee; Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Loan - Provincial Party Committee Member and Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr. Vu Xuan Truong - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Ms. Le Thi Thai - Provincial Party Committee Member and Deputy Head of the Provincial Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission; Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luong - Deputy Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Committee of the Provincial People’s Council. Guest representatives included: Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism; Mr. Vo Hoang Lien Kha - Member of the Board of Directors and Standing Deputy CEO of Vietravel; Mr. Trinh Van Ha - CEO of Nui Chua Chan Cable Car Services Co., Ltd., Sun Group; and Mr. Nguyen Chau A - Director of Oxalis Adventure.

Overview of the conference (Source: Dong Nai Newspaper)

In his opening remarks, Mr. Le Truong Son - Member of the Provincial Standing Committee and Vice Chairman of the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee - emphasized the locality’s advantages following administrative consolidation, identifying tourism as a key economic sector alongside the development momentum driven by Long Thanh International Airport, which has yet to be effectively leveraged. The conference is therefore expected to contribute practical solutions to promote the province’s tourism development.

Mr. Le Truong Son delivered the opening remarks at the conference (Source: Dong Nai Newspaper)

In his keynote address, Dr. Dinh Cong Khai, Vice President of UEH, also emphasized the strong development potential of Dong Nai Province. However, he noted that the province needs to build a highly connected tourism product system and create attractive experience chains to increase visitors’ length of stay and spending value, transforming transit visitors into staying and experiential tourists rather than merely passing through.

Dr. Dinh Cong Khai delivered the keynote remarks at the conference (Source: Dong Nai Newspaper)

Opening UEH’s presentation session, Assoc. Prof. Trinh Tu Anh - Director of the Institute of Smart City and Management, proposed a spatial planning orientation for the new Dong Nai Province based on a multi-polar, multi-center model, focusing on unified restructuring and strengthened regional connectivity to leverage the advantages of Long Thanh International Airport, the Dong Nai River, and key transport corridors. Accordingly, Dong Nai is positioned as a growth pole of the Southeast region, serving as a gateway for connectivity and aiming for smart, sustainable development. The plan also identifies five key development zones, with Long Thanh Airport as the core, to promote urban logistics development and integrate trade and tourism along transport axes, thereby contributing to more effective regional linkages.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trinh Tu Anh, Director of the Institute of Smart City and Management, presented the paper at the conference

Continuing the session, Mr, Do Le Phuc Tam - Lecturer at the Institute of Smart City and Management - presented orientations for developing high-quality tourism associated with the airport city model, aiming to position Long Thanh as an aviation hub of Southeast Asia with over 100 million passengers per year, thereby driving the economic and urban development of Dong Nai and the southern region. The presentation also proposed prioritizing the development of aviation services, integrating the “airport city” and “aerotropolis” models based on international experience, and forming an Airport City-Corridor-Cluster-Aerotropolis structure. The focus would be on MICE, transit tourism, healthcare, education, shopping, and entertainment, with the goal of establishing a new tourism–commercial hub for the region.

Mr. Do Le Phuc Tam presented the paper

Presenting a paper on repositioning Dong Nai’s brand from a “connectivity bottleneck” to a “multi-experience connected urban destination” within the Southern key economic region, Dr. Le Thi Hanh An - Deputy Head of the Department of Communications and Partnerships, emphasized that an urban brand today is not merely a communication tool but an integrated governance process associated with context, brand identity, brand image, and the experiences of residents, visitors, and other stakeholders. The presentation identified the core bottleneck as the lack of effective connectivity and the failure to transform the role of a transit point into destination attractiveness. Accordingly, it proposed a new positioning with four roles and six implementation components, focusing on spatial restructuring, developing a visitor conversion ecosystem, diversifying tourism products, and enhancing infrastructure, governance, and communication, with the aim of elevating Dong Nai into an attractive regionally connected destination.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Tri - Dean of the School of Tourism at UEH, also proposed an orientation for tourism development in Dong Nai based on a multi-center ecosystem model, shifting from a mono-centric to a multi-polar approach to reduce urban pressure and improve operational efficiency. Accordingly, four strategic tourism corridors were identified: the North focusing on eco and adventure tourism; the central area on resort, spiritual, and cultural tourism; the South on MICE development associated with Long Thanh airport city; and the West on strengthening regional connectivity to drive comprehensive tourism development.

Dr. Nguyen Duc Tri presented the paper

In addition, tourism experts, businesses, and major tourism corporations shared presentations on the potential, limitations, and proposed practical solutions for developing Dong Nai’s tourism in the coming period.

The scientific conference “Orientations for Tourism Development in Dong Nai in the New Context” helped clarify the opportunities and challenges for the province’s tourism development, particularly the need to effectively leverage advantages from strategic planning and infrastructure such as Long Thanh International Airport. Built on strong collaboration between UEH and the Dong Nai Provincial People’s Committee, and on multidimensional discussions among scientists, experts, and policymakers, the conference not only added academic value but also generated policy implications and practical solutions, enhancing destination competitiveness and promoting the sustainable development of local tourism in the future.