An English guide to the Vietnamese outbound travel market
Section · Rules and practice
Working in Vietnam as a foreign brand
Running a campaign for Vietnamese travellers means working under Vietnamese advertising law, usually through a Vietnamese agency, often with influencers, and in Vietnamese. This section explains the rules that apply to foreign advertisers, how to brief local partners and creators, and what to localise beyond the words.
The rule that surprises foreign advertisers
Vietnam's Law on Advertising, in force since 1 January 2013 and amended several times since, says that a foreign organisation that does not operate in Vietnam and wants to advertise its products or services there must hire a Vietnamese advertising service provider to do it. A tourism board or hotel without a Vietnamese entity therefore works through a local agency for advertising placed in Vietnam.
The 2025 amendment, in force since 1 January 2026, added duties for influencers and anyone who conveys advertising, and new rules for online and cross-border advertising, including removal of unlawful ads within 24 hours of an official request. The advertising law page summarises the provisions and their sources.
Sources: LuatVietnam — Law on Advertising 16/2012/QH13, text with amendment notes; LuatVietnam — what Law 75/2025/QH15 changed in the Law on Advertising · last checked .
Influencers are now named in the law
Since 2026 the law has named people who directly advertise, recommend or confirm products online as "conveyors" of advertising, with their own obligations. Influencers must not promote products they have not used or do not understand, and must say clearly that content is advertising, before and while it runs. At a November 2025 seminar, officials said KOL posts on social networks and livestreams must be labelled "quảng cáo" (advertising) or "tài trợ" (sponsored).
For a destination this changes the brief. A creator who has not visited may not be able to promote the trip lawfully, and the labelling has to be in the contract, not left to goodwill. Famtrips, once a matter of content quality, become part of compliance. The briefing page turns this into a working checklist.
Sources: LuatVietnam — what Law 75/2025/QH15 changed in the Law on Advertising; Saigon Giai Phong — seminar on the amended advertising law, KOLs and digital advertising (12 Nov 2025) · last checked .
Localisation is more than translation
Advertising shown in Vietnam must contain Vietnamese, with limited exceptions for brand names and similar; where a foreign language appears too, it may be no more than three quarters the size of the Vietnamese and sits below it. Beyond the legal minimum, the practical questions are payment, where domestic bank transfer and QR payment are routine, and service, where customers expect to reach you in a chat app in Vietnamese.
The localisation page covers language, payment, service channels and the group and family patterns that shape what Vietnamese guests book.
Sources: LuatVietnam — Law on Advertising 16/2012/QH13, text with amendment notes; NAPAS — National Payment Corporation of Vietnam, official site; Zalo Official Account — official product page · last checked .
An order of work for a first campaign
- Confirm, with a Vietnamese lawyer, how the rule on foreign advertisers applies to your organisation.
- Choose a Vietnamese agency and put labelling, takedown and account ownership into the contract.
- Prepare Vietnamese material first: website pages, fact sheet, visa guidance, a staffed chat channel.
- Run famtrips for the creators and journalists who will speak about you.
- Launch, measure outcomes you can check yourself, and keep records of every paid item.
Pages in this section
These pages summarise published sources so that you can ask better questions. Before signing contracts or launching paid campaigns, have a Vietnamese lawyer check the consolidated text of the law and its implementing decrees on that date.
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Can a foreign tourism board buy advertising in Vietnam directly?
The Law on Advertising says a foreign organisation not operating in Vietnam must hire a Vietnamese advertising service provider. Confirm the current text with a Vietnamese lawyer.
Do Vietnamese influencers have to label paid posts?
Yes. Since 1 January 2026 the law requires influencers to announce clearly that content is advertising.
Related
Read next
Rules · Advertising law
Advertising law
The Vietnamese advertising rules that apply to foreign travel brands: local agencies, language, KOLs, online ads.
Rules · Agencies and creators
Agencies and KOLs
Writing briefs and contracts for Vietnamese PR agencies and creators under the 2026 advertising rules.
Rules · Localisation
Localisation
Language, payment methods, chat-based service and family travel patterns for Vietnamese guests.
Section · Media
Media and platforms
Social platforms, messaging and Vietnamese news media for foreign travel brands, with audience figures.
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