Development of Tourism Products From News Media Discourse: A Secondary Data Analysis of Online Newspapers

The study aims to analyze news media discourse on Vietnam tourism product development and propose policy implications. The data includes 60 media and policy documents (online articles, press releases, industry reports, strategic documents) for the period 2020–2025, selected using purposive sampling and processed through a combination of qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. The documents were divided into 546 meaning units for coding and theme construction. The results identified four main discourse groups: the paradox of great potential and inadequate products; the similarity, lack of identity, and depth of experience among different localities; the systemic bottlenecks in infrastructure, services, human resources, and governance; and the orientation to shift to green tourism, linked to local communities and cultures. This study contributes by clarifying the role of the press as a space for creating and criticizing tourism product discourse, while also proposing several recommendations for policy and product development practices in a sustainable and community-based direction.