Tourism bubble could burst without real substance at the core

"Dail slope" refers to Cang’er Avenue in Dali, Yunnan Province, China, a picturesque street that offers a blend of natural beauty and cultural charm, including a backdrop of the Cangshan mountain range on one side and Erhai Lake on the other.

The police in Quy Nhon had to summon 10 people to sign statements because they were filming in the middle of a road, posing a safety hazard.

Prices at these cities increased for a few days before quietly dropping as the algorithm shifted to the next trend.

In 2025 the global tourism industry achieved a record 1.5 billion international visitors.

But a McKinsey study has revealed a worrying paradox: 80% of global tourists only visit 10% of destinations. This is not because the remaining 90% are less attractive – but because social media algorithms reduce it to a "winner-takes-all" race.

Urban researcher Petter Törnberg of the University of Amsterdam, in an article published in early 2025 in the journal Social Media + Society, accurately described this phenomenon by saying social media transforms places into a kind of "internet celebrity"—attention begets attention, crowds attract capital, and urban spaces begin to be designed not to serve residents, but to serve algorithms.

He calls this "social media urbanism" where investors decide to invest based on viral potential, not real value.

In the stock market, speculation is buying assets not for their intrinsic value but on the expectation that the price will rise due to the influx of other people's money under what is known as the "greater fool theory."

In Vietnamese tourism, hastily constructed "heaven's gates," glass bridges suspended in the forest and concrete cafes obscuring the valleys are all forms of speculation that involve investing as little as possible in backdrops for photoshooting, profiting quickly from the viral influx of tourists and then leaving when the trend fades.

This model shares three characteristics with the asset bubble. First, the asset lacks intrinsic value: A painted iron gate at the top of a mountain pass holds no cultural or historical significance, and its entire "value" comes from its photogenic location on social media.

Second, the influx of tourists owes to herd behavior, driven not by the experience itself but by the fear of missing out (FOMO). A 2025 survey by Booking.com found that 50% of Vietnamese Gen Z travelers would hesitate to visit a place if it was not tagged with a location tag.

Third, when the trend fades, the location loses appeal and becomes deserted, temporary infrastructure deteriorates, and the landscape is damaged, but no one takes responsibility for restoration.

Boats carry tourists on the Hoai River in Hoi An, central Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

A study by Hainan University and Arizona State University published in the Journal of Destination Marketing & Management accurately documented this phenomenon at the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in China.

After a TikTok video went viral, visitor numbers surged at a location that was unprepared to take in tourists, overwhelming infrastructure and damaging the ecosystem.

The authors called this the phenomenon of "famous overnight" and asked "What now?"

In 2025 Vietnam got over 21.5 million international tourists, generating over VND1 trillion (US$38 billion) in revenue. These are impressive figures.

However, behind it lies an issue: the average spending by an international tourist in Vietnam is some $1,200 while Thailand's figure is more than 20% higher.

The root cause lies in the "bubble" model. When the tourism industry prioritizes the number of tourists (because numbers are easy to measure, report and claim "achievements"), low-priced tourism products inevitably become the most common.

When a product lacks depth, tourists have no reason to spend more.

In the financial market, Warren Buffett is famous for his philosophy of "Price is what you pay, value is what you get."

The tourism industry needs a similar philosophy.

Sustainable destinations are not the most viral destinations, but those with intrinsic value – local culture, ecosystems, community stories – things that cannot be replaced by algorithms.

The world has seen compelling counter-models.

Bhutan has a $100/night sustainability fee for international tourists to attract only those who genuinely want to experience something special.

Japan implements a reservation system at temples in Kyoto, turning "scarceness" into value.

Venice in Italy charges an entry fee of €5-10 ($5.78-11.56) per day for daytime visitors, using the revenue to preserve its threatened heritage.

The common thread? They value destinations based on carrying capacity - the number of people a place can support without environmental degradation - and not on TikTok views.

However, algorithms are not the enemy, if you know how to use them.

The good news is that trends are self-correcting.

Booking's 2025 survey also found that 27% of Vietnamese travelers proactively choose not to use location tags in order to protect lesser-known destinations.

Some 79% use technology to search for new and unique places instead of heading for popular, overcrowded spots.

Travel site Expedia notes that 63% of global travelers want to choose less crowded destinations for their next trip.

The new generation of travelers is "short-selling" check-in bubbles; they seek real value, not likes.

If we build products with depth, algorithms will amplify that depth.

After over 20 years in the tourism and hospitality industry, I've witnessed many "bubbles" burst and burst.

The enduring destinations are not those that build the fastest "gateway to heaven" ; they are those that tell the best stories.

Hoi An remains popular decades later not because of its "gateway to heaven," but because of its lanterns, its ancient town and the tailors who still sew traditional ao dai dresses every morning.

Ha Long Bay doesn't need a glass bridge because its eternal beauty transcends any algorithm. That is intrinsic value, and not a bubble that could burst.

Vietnam has ample resources to build destinations that the world craves not because they are trending but because they are genuinely worthy.

What the tourism industry needs is not more "stocks" on social media platforms, but long-term investment in people, culture and ecology, assets whose value only increases over time, never decreases.