Mastercard Economics Institute chief economist David Mann has outlined a compelling shift in regional travel dynamics, particularly for Vietnam.
Mann’s report at the High-Level Tourism Forum at the twentieth International Travel Expo in Ho Chi Minh City (ITE-HCMC) on Thursday, 7th August, revealed how business travel is rapidly emerging as a primary growth driver for tourism economies across Asia, with Vietnam positioned at the centre of this transformation.
He highlighted that the convergence of business travel, extended stays for leisure, and repeat visitation is reshaping economic models globally.
Drawing comparisons to Japan, where inbound tourism spending accounted for up to half of economic growth in recent years, Mann emphasised that corporate travel represents the highest-yielding segment of this expenditure.
Vietnam in its ascendant
While global recovery in inbound tourism remains uneven, Vietnam and Japan stand out as clear outperformers, with 2026 year-to-date arrival figures comfortably exceeding pre-pandemic 2019 levels and surpassing 2025 benchmarks.
In Vietnam, this momentum reflects a powerful combination of expanding supply-side infrastructure, enhanced connectivity, and reduced friction through streamlined visa policies.
Source market data underscores distinct regional preferences across Vietnam’s key destinations:
- South Korea South Korean visitors dominate central and coastal destinations, accounting for 28 per cent of visitors to Da Nang and 11 per cent to Phu Quoc, while maintaining a strong presence in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; and
- United States and Singapore Travelers from the United States and Singapore show a marked concentration in urban commercial hubs, with Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi attracting the vast majority of outbound spend from Singapore, the largest outbound market in the ASEAN region.
FDI diversification and corporate spend dispersion
As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and a premier destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Vietnam’s double-digit nominal GDP growth and robust FDI inflows are directly influencing corporate transaction patterns.
At the same time, cross-border card data demonstrates a notable decentralisation of business travel beyond primary entry points.
While Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi retain significant shares of corporate transactions, spending by business travellers from key trading partners, particularly Taiwan, Mainland China, and Singapore, is increasingly spreading into secondary provinces.
Top FDI-investing nations are steadily increasing their corporate footprint across wider regions, aligning with the expansion of Vietnam’s manufacturing and export engines into new industrial corridors.
The corporate yield advantage
The financial impact of corporate visitors significantly outweighs that of traditional leisure tourists.
Mastercard's 2026 transaction data reveals a stark yield gap between business and consumer cardholders:
- Dining Average corporate card spend on dining from key markets like Japan and South Korea ranges between $220 and $246 per card, dwarfing average consumer card spend in the same category.
- Accommodation In hotel expenditure, corporate card spending nearly doubles the average transaction values recorded by leisure travellers from top-spending consumer markets such as Switzerland, Norway, Australia, and Mainland China.
This yield premium is further amplified when business travellers extend their trips for leisure purposes, maximizing total spend per visit.
Outlook for the long-term
Vietnam’s overall corporate card transaction volume now rivals long-established regional powerhouses.
For major outbound markets including the United States, Mainland China, Japan, and South Korea, Vietnam ranks alongside destinations like Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan in attracting high-value corporate travel spend.
For South Korean business travellers in particular, Vietnam stands as a dominant regional target.
Mann concluded that while demand-side momentum remains strong, Vietnam’s continued success will depend on further developing infrastructure and streamlining travel processes. With both corporate and consumer spending patterns shifting favourably, the country is well-positioned to sustain high-yielding tourism growth over the long term.
