For foreign investors’ tourism and resort projects, land is the most decisive issue of all: location is the product. Unlike public-infrastructure projects, purely commercial tourism projects mostly fall outside State land recovery for hand-over to investors — investors must access land funds by agreement, while the accompanying water surface and coastal corridor create a separate licensing layer. This article presents the land and water mechanisms for tourism projects and the limits to diligence before fixing a location.
1. Tourism project land funds: self-negotiation is the main channel
Under Article 79 of the Land Law No. 31/2024/QH15, State land recovery for national and public interest is a closed list, and purely commercial tourism/resort projects are not on it. Consequently, tourism investors access land mainly by two routes — leasing State land from existing funds (State-managed land, cleared land in planned tourism zones), or using the agreement mechanism on land use rights in Article 127 of the 2024 Land Law to receive transfers/leases of current users’ rights and then convert purpose to commercial-service land under Article 121 where the original land is agricultural/residential. Tourism land is commercial-service land — a non-agricultural group leased for the project term (maximum 50 years, special cases 70 years under Article 172). For resorts with components sold/long-leased (condotels, resort villas), the land regime of each component (commercial-service land leased per project term, buyers’ ownership term of components) must be clarified right in the investment policy — this is an area that has generated many market disputes and is the first legal diligence point of any resort project with product sales.
2. Water-surface leasing and sea-area allocation for over-water resort components
Components such as over-water bungalows, tourist jetties, water-sports zones and marinas use an entirely different resource from land: water surface and sea areas. Inland water surfaces (lakes, rivers, lagoons) are leased/allocated under land law on water-surface land and local authorities’ management rules. For sea areas, the dedicated mechanism is sea-area allocation under Decree No. 11/2021/ND-CP on allocating defined sea areas to organisations and individuals for marine resource exploitation and use: the investor is allocated a defined sea area (coordinates, area) to build and operate tourism works at sea within the allocation term, with a sea-area use fee payable. Key diligence points: rights over a sea area are use rights per the allocated term and approved purpose — not “ownership of the sea surface”, not automatically excluding all other lawful passage and fishing outside the works’ safety perimeter, and works at sea must also meet maritime safety and marine environmental protection rules. Projects with piers/marinas additionally pass through the port/wharf construction investment regime under maritime law.
3. The coastal protection corridor and coastal planning limits
The Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment No. 82/2015/QH13 establishes the coastal protection corridor — a coastal land strip designated to protect ecosystems, prevent erosion and ensure community sea access — within which construction is restricted as prescribed, with corridor boundaries determined and published by provincial People’s Committees for each coastal segment. For a resort project, the coastal corridor decides whether the “golden” land right at the water’s edge can be built on: many beachfront positions may host only light works, greenery and open amenities, while the main hotel block must retreat inland per the published corridor boundary. Site diligence must therefore include: the coastal protection corridor map of the relevant segment, coastal construction setback lines in detailed planning, rules ensuring public sea-access routes through the project (the project may not “privatise” the entire beachfront), and coastal wastewater treatment requirements (discharges to the sea face stricter standards than inland discharges). Skipping this layer is a common reason resort designs must be redrawn after land is signed.
4. Terms, lease structure and long-term operating risks
Three structural points to lock from the start for tourism projects. First, synchronise the terms of all rights layers — the land lease term (maximum 50 years per project), the sea-area allocation term and operating licence terms must form one unified term table; the shortest-termed component is the whole project’s breaking point at refinancing or transfer. Second, commercial-service land rent and sea-area use fees are long-term fixed costs unlinked to seasons — a tourism financial model (seasonal and cycle-sensitive) needs downside-year scenarios, and lease terms should carry a rent-review mechanism per land-price law cycles rather than assuming a fixed price for 50 years (annual-payment land rent is adjusted on the rent-stabilisation cycle under current land rent rules). Third, natural and planning risks: coastal projects face erosion, storms and coastal-protection planning changes over time — project contracts and files should allocate clearly the responsibility for shore-protection works investment, coastal asset insurance, and the handling mechanism if the State adjusts planning in ways that change the project’s exploitation conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Will the State recover residents’ land to hand to a resort investor?
In principle no: purely commercial tourism/resort projects are outside the State-recovery cases for national and public interest in Article 79 of the 2024 Land Law. Investors must access land by agreement on land use rights under Article 127 or lease from existing State land funds. Tourism projects tied to specific public objectives (in zones the State develops comprehensively with State resources) may have their own mechanism under a specific decision, but that is a written-confirmation exception, not a default.
What right is an over-water bungalow held under — can it be registered like real estate?
Works on water/sea surfaces are built on the basis of water-surface use rights or a sea-area allocation decision for the approved term and purpose; the right’s nature and registrability of work ownership depend on the work type and rules for that area — this is not an ordinary land use right and has no automatic certification mechanism like residential land. The legal structure for over-water components must be designed separately in the project file, especially where over-water resort units are to be sold or long-leased.
How long is a sea-area allocation for a tourism project?
The sea-area allocation term is determined by use needs and activity type within the frame of Decree No. 11/2021/ND-CP and the corresponding investment project’s term; extension is considered at expiry as prescribed. Because this term can be shorter than the same project’s landward lease term, investors should reconcile and synchronise the two term milestones right in the project file rather than assuming they are equal.
May a resort fence off the entire beach in front of the project?
No. The coastal protection corridor and community sea-access rules limit beach monopolisation: the project must ensure public sea-access routes per planning and the published corridor boundary. An “absolutely private beach” model is feasible only within what the law allows for each specific coastal segment and must be confirmed during the project’s detailed-planning approval — it is not a default investor right.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council