Following its June 2025 merger with Phu Yen, the new Dak Lak province now spans a rare 'highland-coast-culture' landscape linking Buon Ma Thuot's highlands with Tuy Hoa's coastline. In the first half of 2026 the province welcomed 5.33 million visitors, up 37.2% year-on-year, fueling a wave of coastal resort and commercial real estate investment.
On June 30, 2025, Phu Yen and Dak Lak provinces officially merged into the new Dak Lak, with its administrative center in Buon Ma Thuot, creating a rare 'forest - sea - culture' development space in Vietnam. In 2025, total visitor arrivals to the region reached more than 7 million; in the first ten months of 2025 alone, tourism revenue reached VND 12,455 billion, up nearly 60% year-on-year. In 2026, growth accelerated further: Q1 alone drew 2.3 million visitors (up 24% year-on-year), with revenue of VND 4.12 trillion (up 25%); over the first six months, the province welcomed roughly 5.33 million visitors, up 37.2% year-on-year, reaching 66.6% of its annual target.
Since the merger, cross-region 'sea-to-forest' itineraries have taken shape: travelers from the Buon Ma Thuot highlands can head down to Tuy Hoa to admire Ghenh Da Dia, a cluster of stacked hexagonal basalt columns about 40km from the city center, then return inland for waterfalls, elephants, Ede culture and coffee. The province has issued an action program branding 'Buon Ma Thuot - World's Finest Coffee Capital' for 2026-2030, and opened its 2026 tourism season under the theme 'heritage destination,' timed with the 51st anniversary of Phu Yen's liberation.
Cross-region infrastructure is being fast-tracked to support this vision. The 117km Khanh Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway is being accelerated to open fully in 2026 instead of the originally planned 2027. On December 19, 2025, the first 68km of the route was technically opened to traffic, comprising 20km of component project 1 in Khanh Hoa and 48km of component project 3 in Dak Lak. In parallel, a proposed Tuy Hoa - Buon Ma Thuot expressway is under consideration, expected to become the strategic link between the highland and coastal tourism poles.
This infrastructure and tourism boost is spilling into real estate. The coastal Tuy Hoa area already hosts several sizeable resort developments, including L'Aurora Phu Yen (33 villas, 78 shophouses) and Lynn Times Phu Yen along the Da Rang River - both launched in 2021-2022, before the merger. As the regional expressway network closes the loop, visitor and capital flows into coastal resorts are expected to extend to Buon Ma Thuot, where ample central land reserves still stand ready to absorb the next wave of commercial and hospitality investment.