Great potential
According to the tourism industry summary for the first 8 months of 2022 by the General Department of Tourism, Cambodia is one of the 3 countries with the largest number of visitors to Vietnam, after South Korea and the US, which surprised many people. Because in the golden age of the tourism industry before the Covid-19 pandemic, not many people cared about Lao and Cambodian tourists. Tourists arriving by road were expected, mainly from the "giant" Chinese market. Therefore, during the period when this country "closed its doors", we almost forgot about tourists coming through land border gates. However, quietly, the number of Cambodian and Lao tourists coming to Vietnam is increasing.
Passengers exiting through Moc Bai International Border Gate ( Tay Ninh )
Specifically, just 8 months after Vietnam tourism officially opened, Cambodian tourists to Vietnam increased by 205% compared to the same period in 2019. By the end of 2022, tourists from Cambodia will still maintain their "form", grow strongly and be in the top 3 markets sending the largest tourists to Vietnam.
Mr. Truong Duc Hai (Director of Far East Pearl Tourism Company)
The strong increase in demand has prompted Cambodia's national airline to officially operate commercial passenger flights between Siem Reap and Hanoi with an initial frequency of 3 flights/week, from the end of December 2022, following the strong resumption of flights between Vietnam and Cambodia such as Ho Chi Minh City - Phnom Penh/Siem Reap/Sihanoukville; Hanoi - Phnom Penh; Da Nang - Siem Reap...
"Brother" Laos is also one of the factors that create many bright spots for our country's international tourism market. In 2019, the exchange of visitors between the two countries reached over 1.2 million. There were some periods such as early 2017, the number of Lao tourists even surpassed China, becoming the largest international tourist market to Vietnam. According to data from the General Department of Tourism, Laos is often in the top 15 markets of Vietnam's tourism, while Vietnam is the third largest market sending visitors to Laos. In the first 6 months of 2022, Vietnam welcomed more than 18,600 Lao visitors.
Having exploited the Mekong Sub-regional Itinerary route and exploited Cambodian tourists for more than a decade, Mr. Truong Duc Hai, Director of Hon Ngoc Vien Dong Tourism Company, assessed that the demand for Vietnamese tourism from Cambodian and Lao tourists has grown significantly compared to the period about 10 years ago.
Previously, Hon Ngoc Vien Dong also organized a tour to welcome Cambodian guests traveling by road through Moc Bai International Border Gate (Tay Ninh), the journey Nha Trang - Da Lat - Ho Chi Minh City 5 days 4 nights. Cambodian guests traveling by road to Vietnam is very convenient. At 5 am, guests depart from Phnom Penh, arrive at the border gate around 8 am, complete procedures, have breakfast, and begin the journey to explore Vietnam, which is "just right". However, after that, this tour program could not be continued because the tour price was too low, there was no profit and the number of guests was too small. The tour company had to have more than 15 guests to organize the tour, but after many weeks of sluggishness, it was only possible to gather 10 people.
"At that time, Cambodians and Laotians had almost no need to travel much. They went to Vietnam mainly for medical treatment. However, in the past few years, destinations such as Da Lat and Phu Quoc have been very popular with Cambodian tourists. Especially in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Cambodian tourists traveling by sea to Ha Tien border gate are very crowded, using high-class services of Chinese tourists, meaning that tourism needs have changed a lot. Siem Reap does not lack rich people and it should be noted that travel companies in Cambodia often only promote inbound tourists, bringing Vietnamese people to Cambodia. Occasionally, there are only 1-2 units promoting tours to Vietnam. Overall, this market has a lot of room," Mr. Truong Duc Hai assessed.
…But no one exploits?
The paradox is that, despite the potential market, nationwide, the number of Vietnamese travel agencies organizing tours to welcome Lao and Cambodian guests can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
The representative of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also stated that the potential for border tourism between Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia is quite large, but the number of tourists coming to this area is still limited, not commensurate with the potential. Border tourism between the three countries has not generally had a strong breakthrough. Investment activities of enterprises in border provinces are mostly focused on trade, not focusing on investment in the tourism sector..., so border tourism products are not really attractive to tourists.
Mr. Truong Duc Hai explained: Most of the tourists from Cambodia and Laos come to Vietnam only for medical treatment. These tourists contact hospitals directly or through some "brokers" and intermediaries. Not to mention, there are many Cambodians and Laotians who are fluent in Vietnamese and have relatives in Vietnam. They take the initiative in every step, so tourism businesses have no chance.
"Most importantly, up to now, our tourism industry has had almost no concept of tourism promotion in these markets. For example, Cambodian tourists really like Da Lat, we have proposed many times that Lam Dong province join with Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh to create a tourism route and then promote it in major cities in Cambodia, but no one has done it. The source of tourists is unique, the locality does not link products, does not promote, only businesses trying cannot do it," said Mr. Truong Duc Hai.
Mr. Nguyen Van My, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lua Viet Travel Company, frankly stated that the Vietnamese tourism industry has not yet properly assessed the huge potential of the two markets of Cambodia and Laos. Not to mention exploitation, some localities when counting international visitors do not even count visitors from these two markets.
"Even the latest statistics from the General Department of Tourism are not accurate. Before the pandemic, Moc Bai International Border Gate alone welcomed 7-8 international transit trips every day, with no less than 1 million passengers per year, but there were no statistics. The source of Cambodian tourists coming to Vietnam for medical treatment is huge. There are hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City where 70% of patients are Cambodian, so the actual number cannot be that small," Mr. My pointed out.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van My, the potential for medical tourism in the two markets of Laos and Cambodia is currently so great, but tourism businesses have not yet exploited it because there is no close connection and cooperation between the two sectors of health and tourism. Lao and Cambodian patients receiving medical treatment in Vietnam enjoy many incentives. The cost for Cambodians to receive medical treatment in Vietnam is much cheaper than in Thailand. However, it is very easy to travel independently to Vietnam, so tourism businesses cannot grasp the exact number of customers to develop exploitation plans.
"Everyone is doing it their own way, so the tourism industry is still on the sidelines, and there is no coordinated program to promote the exploitation of this potential source of customers. Therefore, tourism businesses also find it difficult to launch tours to welcome Cambodian customers."
Mr. Nguyen Van My (Chairman of Board of Directors of Lua Viet Tourism Company)
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