A few days until summer, foreign tourism launches campaign to attract Vietnamese tourists

Businesses and organizations promote destinations across countries on social media to attract Vietnamese tourists - Screenshot: THAO THUONG

Their competitive prices and convenient transportation are an undeniable attraction for many Vietnamese tourists. Many domestic travel agencies are also competing with foreign tourism to bring customers abroad or retain customers in the domestic market.

From Facebook advertising to destination survey invitations

On May 17, Ms. Nguyen Thu Huong (38 years old, teacher in Gia Lai province) said that this summer her family plans to travel for about 10 days.

"Swimming" among the "forest" of domestic summer tours, Ms. Huong was overwhelmed with foreign destinations and lots of attractive information from foreign agencies. The prices were very "affordable", and the travel was extremely convenient.

Since I had the intention of traveling this summer, I started searching on social media, and related information automatically flowed in. "I was really attracted to destinations in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand... introduced by a YouTuber. They are not as expensive as I imagined," said Ms. Huong.

Currently, many foreign authorities, units and foreign tourism businesses are setting up strategies to "attract" Vietnamese tourists through many forms of promotion in addition to opening official information channels.

Among them, the most used social networks and messaging channels are Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, X (Twitter), Orkut, Hi5, Friendster, QQ, Mixi... Markets with developed tourism industries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia... are currently paying close attention to information on social networks to attract Vietnamese tourists.

On May 17, speaking with Tuoi Tre, Ms. Serene Ng, chief representative of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in Vietnam, confirmed that STB has established strategic cooperation with tourism partners in Vietnam to position Singapore as a favorite destination.

Such as coordinated marketing campaigns, market-specific incentive packages, synchronized promotion on both digital platforms and traditional channels...

“We have partnered with many influential artists and content creators in Vietnam to inspire and engage potential tourists. These influential artists and content creators have had many experiences at Singapore’s newest attractions. From there, they share their real experiences to introduce, promote and inspire the public to visit and explore ,” said Ms. Serene Ng.

STB has created a Facebook account since 2008 with many posts related to promotional activities from artists, content creators...

Similarly, it also "pushes" promotion through strategic cooperation with airlines, travel companies, takes advantage of social media influencers (KOLs), travel bloggers (travel inspirations) in Vietnam... The Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board is "pushing" many tourism products to bring Malaysia's image closer to Vietnamese tourists.

They are launching many attractive promotions exclusively for the Vietnamese market.

"In addition to promoting on social networks, to "fit" with the real image, we coordinate with strategic partners to organize survey tours to introduce the latest destinations and tourism products in Malaysia. From there, travel agencies build new and attractive tour programs for Vietnamese tourists," informed the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Agency in Vietnam.

Many destinations in other countries have a strong presence on online platforms, and Vietnamese tourists are almost "struck in the eye"...

Among them, many Korean businesses "run" online to promote quite special types of Korean tours such as incentive tours, K-beauty tours, Korean - Vietnamese school exchange tours... with designs specifically for each customer group.

Destinations and tours to China are also densely packed on social media. According to records, tour prices in this country are very competitive at 5 million VND for road travel and ranging from 10 - 20 million VND for air travel, with many incentives...

Vietnamese tourists visit Roi Et province, Thailand in February 2025 - Photo: QUANG DINH

Methodical investment, long-term campaign

Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel, highly appreciated the promotional strategies of countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. According to her, they invested very systematically, had long-term campaigns with major travel companies in Vietnam and hit the psychology and tastes of Vietnamese tourists.

"In particular, they are very flexible in promoting communications on digital platforms as well as flexibly adjusting products, always having many new products and services... Good price policy, especially cooperating with large travel agencies to directly approach potential customers. Thanks to that, this summer, the number of Vietnamese outbound tourists increased sharply," said Ms. Hoang.

Vietravel also recorded a nearly 30% increase in the number of customers registering for tours to Singapore, Malaysia, China... this summer compared to the same period last year, and some foreign tours are almost sold out. Many routes such as Malaysia - Singapore, Bali, Taiwan are very attractive to customers with many new schedules...

In order for domestic destinations to retain tourists, Ms. Hoang believes that Vietnamese businesses need to innovate products, exploit new lands, build seasonal and event-based tours or personalize travel experiences, create different values ​​through high-class services, exclusive itineraries...

Agreeing, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hiep, General Director of Viettourist Travel Company, acknowledged that the promotional campaigns of countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand are very systematic, continuous, and highly updated. The preferential combo packages (free visa, discounted airfare, hotel combos, etc.), combined with the quick grasp of tourism trends, are attracting customers well.

Mr. Hiep also cited countries that attract tourists with seasonal campaigns (such as "Visit Thailand Year", "Malaysia Truly Asia", "SingapoReimagine"...). They not only promote destinations but also build lifestyles, emotions, and experiences - what attracts young Vietnamese tourists today.

Meanwhile, from a state management perspective, the director of a tourism department in a central province admitted that the fact that Vietnamese people prioritize spending a lot on international travel reflects personal needs and a new trend in tourism that is forming.

Beware of hidden costs

Amidst the "forest" of foreign tours, to avoid fraud, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong (a lecturer at the tourism department of a university in Ho Chi Minh City) said that foreign tourists should not only care about the price but also pay more attention to the reputation of the tour company, means of transportation, tour schedule...

"Once you have chosen a tour, customers should ask carefully about the accompanying conditions. For example, how much free time is available, what is free, especially food and accommodation, and sightseeing tickets (tourist tickets in some countries are very expensive).

Only transact through official channels, carefully check the contract to avoid unusual incentives. Customers come directly to reputable offices to verify the price list as well as the contract before transferring money," said Ms. Phuong.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/con-vai-ngay-den-he-du-lich-ngoai-tung-chieu-hut-khach-viet-20250518223921846.htm