Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Tourism Promotion Strategies And Policy Frameworks For Destination Competitiveness: A Case Study Of Da Nang City, Vietnam

Abstract

Destination competitiveness has emerged as a vital topic in tourism studies, especially in emerging economies where government-led promotion and policy strategies have a key but often mixed impact. In spite of increased theoretical interest, empirical research on the influence of various promotion and policy dimensions on competitiveness in Southeast Asia remains sparse. We fill this gap by assessing the effects of promotion strategy and tourism policy frameworks on destination competitiveness in Da Nang city, Vietnam. A close-ended survey was distributed to 250 tourism businesses, hotels, tour operators, and travel agencies. Data were processed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 3.0 to examine both measurement reliability and the hypothesized structural relationships. The findings reveal that mass media and digital promotion, partnership and product development, and sustainability and governance policies increase competitiveness, while event- and trade-based promotion has a negative effect on competitiveness. Economic and enterprise policies and product, human resource, and heritage policies are insignificant in influencing competitiveness. The model exhibits strong reliability and validity with acceptable fit indices (SRMR = 0.066). These results extend the resource-based view by highlighting the need for strategic alignment and suggest that policymakers should prioritize digital transformation, collaborative partnerships, and sustainable governance while revisiting event-based promotion and policy implementation mechanisms.