In 2023, the Vietnamese tourism industry set a target of welcoming 8 million international visitors. However, by August 2023, the number of international visitors to Vietnam had reached 7.8 million, nearly reaching the set target. Since July, the number of international visitors has always been above 1 million visitors/month. Therefore, the tourism industry has confidently set a new target of welcoming 12-13 million international visitors. And it is likely that this target will be completed on schedule.
Ha Long Bay is one of the attractive destinations for foreign tourists. Photo: VNA
Positive signal
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in July 2023, Vietnam welcomed 1,038.6 thousand international visitors, an increase of 6.5% over the previous month. This is the first month since the beginning of 2023 that the tourism industry has welcomed over 1 million international visitors. In the first 7 months, the total number of international visitors to Vietnam reached nearly 6.6 million, equivalent to 83% of the 2023 plan.
Based on that positive outlook, in Resolution 144/NQ-CP of the regular Government meeting in August 2023, the Government assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to preside over and coordinate with agencies and localities to urgently and resolutely promote innovation in tourism promotion; review, research and adjust the target of welcoming international visitors in 2023 in accordance with the actual situation to further promote tourism recovery and development.
By September 2023, the number of international visitors to Vietnam reached 8.9 million, continuing to exceed the set target. According to many years' practice, the peak season for international visitors to Vietnam will be from October this year to April next year. Therefore, the National Tourism Administration has proactively proposed to increase the target of welcoming international visitors in 2023 from 8 million to 12 to 13 million.
According to the National Tourism Administration, there are four bases for increasing the target of welcoming 12 to 13 million international visitors in 2023. These bases include: The new visa exemption and e-visa policy, in which the e-visa duration is increased from 30 to 90 days, effective from August 15, 2023; Vietnam's increasingly effective bilateral and multilateral foreign policy with the region and the world; The policy of reviving culture with heritages becoming unique, specialized tourism products, attracting international visitors; and Major markets that have reopened and recovered, which are also traditional markets of Vietnam, will bring in a large source of visitors.
And as forecasted by the National Tourism Administration, in the following months, the number of international visitors to Vietnam continued to exceed 1 million arrivals/month, of which October welcomed 1.11 million arrivals, up 5.5% over the previous month and 2.3 times higher than the same period last year, and November welcomed more than 1.2 million arrivals, up nearly 11% over the previous month and more than double the same period last year. In the 11 months of 2023, international visitors to Vietnam reached more than 11.2 million, 3.8 times higher than the same period last year and equal to 68.9% compared to the same period in 2019 - the year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Of the total of more than 11.2 million international visitors to Vietnam in the first 11 months of this year, visitors arriving by air reached more than 9.8 million, accounting for 87.3% of international visitors to Vietnam and 3.7 times higher than the same period last year; by road reached more than 1.3 million, accounting for 11.9% and 4.1 times higher; by sea reached 87.9 thousand, accounting for 0.8% and 102.8 times higher.
December is a month with many big holidays, so Vietnam tourism is expected to make a breakthrough and it is likely that the new goal will be completed.
Overcome existing problems to create breakthrough momentum
To achieve the above encouraging achievements, since the beginning of 2023, the entire tourism industry has synchronously and effectively implemented many policies to restore and develop tourism. At the same time, localities and businesses have also actively deployed many tourism products, cultural and sports activities to stimulate tourism demand.
The recovery rate of international visitors is still lower than in 2019. Illustration photo: Thanh Tung/VNS
However, in addition to the above positive results, tourism activities still have some shortcomings and limitations. The recovery rate of international tourists is still low compared to 2019 and compared to the industry's capacity. Tourism promotion and advertising activities have not met the requirements of frequency and coverage to key markets, and tourism promotion activities have not been organized on a national scale and scale.
Besides, tourism products are not commensurate with potential and strengths, have low added value, are not really diverse and attractive to some tourist markets in the new context, and tourism recovery is uneven in some localities.
On the other hand, destination management in some places and at some times is not thorough, leading to increases in service prices, airfares, especially during holidays, or the phenomenon of squeezing tourists. These are challenges that the "smokeless industry" needs to overcome so that Vietnam tourism continues to be an attractive destination for international tourists, thereby creating a foundation for a strong breakthrough in 2024./.
My Ha
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