AI-Powered AdTech Drives Surge in High-Spending Russian Tourists to Vietnam

Vietnam has welcomed more than 862,000 Russian-speaking visitors as of May 2026, following over 1.2 million arrivals for the full year 2025, according to data from Yandex Ads. The city of Da Nang alone received over 142,000 visitors from Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the first four months of 2026.

This recovery is bolstered by enhanced air connectivity. In May 2026, Da Nang received its inaugural direct charter flight from Moscow, with multiple charter services now connecting the city with Russia and other CIS markets between April and October. Vietjet Air further expanded direct links in June, launching three new routes connecting Da Nang with Moscow and Nha Trang with Kazan and Novosibirsk, moves expected to stimulate tourism flows and travel demand between the nations.

However, the renewed momentum presents a strategic challenge, as many Vietnamese tourism businesses still rely on traditional marketing or digital platforms that are no longer the primary choice for Russian consumers. While Google and Meta hold dominant positions in many global markets, Russian users predominantly use domestic platforms like Yandex for search, maps, video, and travel planning. This necessitates a strategic shift for Vietnamese firms, moving from simple destination promotion to a deeper understanding of how Russian travelers research and make decisions within their native digital ecosystem.

Turning local data into a competitive advantage

Russian travelers typically spend approximately 28 days on research before booking flights or accommodation, interacting with numerous digital touchpoints such as search engines, maps, and review platforms, according to Yandex Ads. This indicates that travel decisions are largely formed long before a transaction occurs.

Search data underscores this trend. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Russian-language searches for “Da Nang” surged 201% year-on-year, while queries related to hotels in Vietnam climbed 400%. These figures show that demand materializes early in the research phase.

In this context, AdTech platforms powered by AI and built on first-party data are becoming critical. They allow tourism businesses to identify consumer demand at its inception, anticipate behavior, and deliver personalized messaging across the entire customer journey.

Speaking to Vietnam Economic Times/VnEconomy, Ms. Thu Nguyen, Business Development Director of Yandex Ads Vietnam, stated that businesses must first understand the information-gathering and trip-planning habits of Russian travelers. "Success is not about reaching more people. It is about identifying the right audience from the earliest stage, accurately understanding their needs and delivering the right message at every touchpoint throughout the travel journey," she said.

Leveraging an ecosystem of over 90 digital services and extensive first-party behavioral data, Yandex Ads helps Vietnamese companies identify not only consumers interested in Vietnam but also the timing and evolution of their travel demand. The efficacy of this data-centric approach was demonstrated in a May 2026 campaign by the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Center and Yandex Ads, which generated over 1.1 million interactions and 424,000 page views for the city's official tourism portal in one month. Russian-speaking markets, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, drove more than half of the portal's traffic, with Russia alone constituting 52% of active users.

AdTech solutions have also yielded tangible commercial outcomes. An international five-star hotel and resort in Vietnam reported a 2.33-fold increase in conversion rates and a 1.98-fold improvement in return on investment (ROI) compared to the previous year after launching campaigns on Yandex. Notably, Yandex data reveals that nearly half of Russian-speaking users planning trips to Vietnam are from high-income and affluent consumer segments, highlighting the market's significant spending power.

Vietnam's AdTech market enters a new phase

Vietnam's AdTech market is entering a period of rapid transformation, characterized by high adaptability and one of the fastest growth rates in the region, according to Yandex Ads. The country's digital advertising market is projected to expand from between $1.3 billion and $1.4 billion in 2025 to nearly $2.9 billion by 2030. Total digital advertising spend is forecast to hit $5.4 billion in 2026 and surpass $7 billion by 2029, positioning Vietnam as one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic digital ad markets.

The country has between 85 million and 86 million internet users, an internet penetration rate of about 84%, and nearly 79 million social media users. With a median age of around 33, its population is among the most digitally engaged in the region.

AI adoption is also accelerating. The share of businesses using AI rose from 21% to 23.5% in 2025, and approximately 78% of internet users have interacted with AI-powered platforms. In e-commerce, AI adoption has reached about 42%, exceeding levels in regional markets like Singapore and Thailand.

Globally, AI is reshaping advertising by shifting the focus from traditional audience targeting to demand forecasting and personalized real-time customer experiences. Echo Lu, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tigerobo Tech, noted that nearly every core advertising function, from content creation and audience targeting to automated media buying and data analytics, is now supported by AI.

Hazem Karkoutly, Chief Executive Officer of Adbreeze, said that while AI is widely used in the Middle East for market analysis and campaign optimization, technology alone is insufficient in markets where success hinges on a deep understanding of local culture and consumer behavior.

Data from Yandex Ads shows AI technologies improved the overall effectiveness of its advertising ecosystem by 38% in 2025. Currently, 82% of advertising budgets on Yandex Direct are optimized using AI, and 90% of marketers use AI to build, optimize, and analyze campaigns.

According to Yandex Ads Vietnam, AI is also leveling the competitive landscape for small and medium-sized enterprises. "AI is helping businesses with limited resources compete more effectively in international markets. For the tourism industry, it enables brands to identify potential customers earlier, personalize messages throughout the travel discovery journey and improve conversion rates without proportionally increasing customer acquisition costs," the company stated.

Ultimately, the future of tourism advertising lies not in volume but in precision: delivering the right message at the exact moment travel demand emerges. As AI continues to transform the global advertising landscape, the ability to predict demand and personalize experiences will become a decisive competitive advantage for Vietnamese tourism businesses aiming to capture the expanding Russian market and other international segments with unique digital footprints.