Tourism businesses strive to find international customers

According to the market trends for international tourists, the peak tourist season will run from September this year to April next year. To prepare for this year's peak season, tourism businesses are making efforts to promote their products to partners.

Seeking partners for the long-distance tourism market.

Mr. Duong Xuan Trang, Director of Mai Viet Tourism Company, said that in mid-September, the company, along with several other tourism units specializing in receiving international tourists, will participate in the IPTM tourism fair, which will take place from September 17-19.

"Initially, the state tourism management agency announced it would organize the tour, but in July they announced they would not participate, so businesses had to take matters into their own hands, as this is an important source of tourists from partners," Mr. Duong Xuan Trang shared.

International tourists visit the Temple of Literature - National University, Hanoi . Photo: XC

According to tourism businesses that cater to international tourists from distant markets, the absence of the Vietnamese tourism industry's joint booth at two of the world's leading tourism fairs recently, namely WTM London, UK (November 2023) and ITB Berlin, Germany (March 2024), is a real challenge for them.

National tourism pavilions will support private companies and businesses by reducing procedural and financial difficulties in order to participate in major trade fairs. According to feedback from Vietnamese tourism businesses participating in ITB Berlin 2024, most developed tourism countries in Southeast Asia had national pavilions, including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

Some countries without national pavilions include Vietnam, Myanmar, and East Timor… The lack of participation in international trade fairs by the Vietnamese tourism industry is making it difficult for businesses to access major source groups from distant international tourist markets.

This year, there was no shared booth, so Vietnamese businesses had to contact and connect with each other independently to organize their participation. Many companies couldn't find partners to participate with, resulting in high costs or the inability to attend ITB Berlin. Furthermore, the lack of a common concept among the booths made it difficult to organize large-scale joint programs to attract visitors from other areas of the fair.

Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, Head of the Secretariat of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), stated that the absence from the WTM and ITB is a waste. "Given the government's favorable visa policies, the tourism industry's weak promotion in the very markets where visa-exempt tourists are allowed, such as the UK and Germany, is truly regrettable," Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh emphasized.

Meanwhile, Mr. Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, commented that Vietnamese tourism has missed a "golden opportunity" by being absent from major tourism fairs. The consecutive absence from two of the world's top fairs has left us struggling and may have "ceded" major partners to other countries. As in previous years, the official booths of Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia have done very well in attracting visitors. "For tourism businesses, participating in fairs is very important because it directly relates to their products. Therefore, if the State management agency doesn't organize it, businesses still have to take initiative, but the effectiveness will not be high because they won't have specific images of destinations," Mr. Vu The Binh stated.

Previously, in response to questions before the National Assembly, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung acknowledged that the operational and management mechanisms of the Tourism Development Fund had been unstable, with "money available but not spent." This significantly impacted participation in tourism promotion and advertising programs and major international trade fairs.

The international tourist market still has much room for growth.

Mr. Lai Van Quan, Director of Focustours Co., Ltd., said: In 2023, airfare was a major issue for businesses when designing tourism products due to the high prices. However, from around mid-2024, airfares on some international routes have cooled down, creating favorable conditions for attracting tourists. Some tour groups chose night flights, with prices reduced by half compared to before. This is an opportunity to attract international tourists.

The biggest challenge now is creating attractive tourism products and boosting promotion. According to the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, with the number of international visitors to Vietnam reaching 1.15 million in July 2024, the total number of international visitors in the first seven months of 2024 will reach nearly 10 million, an increase of 51% compared to the same period in 2023 and an increase of 1.9% compared to the same period in 2019 - the time before the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, an analysis of individual markets shows that the nearest market (Asia) saw the strongest growth, at 57%. The main drivers came from large markets in Northeast Asia such as China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan (China). Southeast Asian markets also achieved good growth.

From now until the end of 2024, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration will continue to implement programs to promote Vietnamese tourism abroad in countries such as China, India, Australia, and New Zealand, and organize a Vietnam tourism and film promotion program in the United States.

According to Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, the tourism industry's goal for 2024 is to welcome 17-18 million international visitors. However, this figure is lower than Vietnam's tourism potential. In fact, businesses within the association are aiming for over 20 million visitors this year. The basis for this 20 million figure is the visa policy, which has undergone many changes, although it is not as broad as some countries in the region.

“Currently, Vietnam is granting bilateral visa exemptions to 15 countries for a stay of 45 days, extending the validity of e-visas to 90 days, and is researching expanding the list of unilateral visa exemptions, piloting the issuance of long-term, multiple-entry visas… To achieve this, in addition to widespread media coverage, the tourism industry needs to develop a strategy for promotion through major international tourism fairs, as this is an important B2B sales channel,” Mr. Vu The Binh suggested.

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