More than 80% of Vietnamese tourists want the places they have visited to become better.

Sustainable tourism plays an important role

The 10th annual Travel and Sustainability Report by Booking.com, one of the world’s leading online travel platforms, provides deeper insights into consumer attitudes and intentions regarding the social and ecological impacts of travel, showing that this year, sustainable travel continues to be important to 96% of Vietnamese travelers. Up to 99% of those surveyed said they want to make more sustainable travel choices.

69% of Vietnamese tourists are increasingly aware of the impact of tourism on local communities and the environment. 77% of Vietnamese tourists believe that tourism has a positive impact on the places where they live, but they also point to some of the challenges that come with it, such as traffic congestion, waste, overtourism and rising living costs.

Vietnamese travelers are increasingly committed to supporting the economies of their destinations, with 79% wanting their spending to contribute back to the local community. This year’s report reflects not only the sentiments of travelers, but also expands their perspective on how they, as residents, view the impact of tourism on the communities where they live.

Hơn 80% du khách Việt mong muốn những nơi họ từng ghé thăm sẽ trở nên tốt đẹp hơn - Ảnh 1. — Tourists are more concerned about the impact of their travels on local communities.

The report, released on June 4, is the result of the views of more than 32,000 tourists from 34 countries surveyed, in the context of increasing debate surrounding the impact of tourism, the report shows a clear shift in tourists' awareness of sustainability.

Notably, for the first time, more than two-thirds of Vietnamese tourists (69%) surveyed said they were aware of the impact of tourism on the community and the environment, with 83% expressing a desire to leave the destinations they visited better after each trip.

New tourism identity
Spreading green tours in Hue

This year’s report takes a closer look at local communities. Going beyond just exploring travel habits, the report asks respondents how they feel about having tourists in their area, revealing both the benefits and challenges of tourism from both the visitor and local perspective.

The report found that while 77% of Vietnamese travelers feel that travel has a generally positive impact on the places they live, adjustments are needed to ensure that destinations can grow at a moderate pace, so that they can continue to be loved and experienced by people in the long term.

From this result, Mr. Varun Grover, Country Manager of Booking.com in Vietnam, shared, "In Vietnam, we see a clear increase in awareness among travelers, not only about their personal experiences but also about the impact of their travel on the local community. With nearly 83% of Vietnamese travelers wanting their destinations to be better after they leave, the tourism industry is facing a great opportunity to realize this desire through investing in infrastructure, providing information, guidance and constantly innovating products and services."

Understanding the needs of local people

According to the survey results, although there are still some problems such as traffic congestion and waste problems, Vietnamese tourists still support community investment, such as improving infrastructure and preserving ecosystems, rather than limiting the number of tourists. This reflects the survey respondents' general desire for travel experiences that respect culture and benefit local communities.

Of these, 49% of Vietnamese tourists surveyed said that the number of tourists in their current place of residence is appropriate. However, as locals, they pointed out challenges such as traffic congestion (46%), littering (46%), rising living costs (33%) and overtourism (25%).

And despite these concerns, only a small proportion (17%) believe that limiting the number of visitors in their area is the right solution. Instead, they highlight the need to invest in local communities, with the types of support they would most like to see include: improved waste management (56%), improved transport infrastructure (54%), and ecosystem conservation (50%).

In terms of visitor behavior in their home country, while there is still room for improvement, more than half of Vietnamese travelers (69%) still feel positively that: The travelers they encounter in their home country often, or always, show respect for local culture and traditions (66%) and actively support local businesses (57%). And 85% of those surveyed seek authentic experiences that represent local culture, and 79% want their spending to go back to supporting the local community.

Hơn 80% du khách Việt mong muốn những nơi họ từng ghé thăm sẽ trở nên tốt đẹp hơn - Ảnh 4.

Conscious habits are becoming mainstream

Looking back at more than a decade of studying sustainable travel trends, Booking.com has seen a clear shift in the awareness, preferences and priorities of global travelers. Their concerns now extend beyond environmental impact to meaningful contributions to local communities and ecosystems at their destinations.

Many of the practices related to waste reduction and energy consumption have become more popular and continue to be top choices for travelers looking to reduce their travel impact. This year’s research shows that community-related behaviors and economic impact are increasingly aligned with environmental factors.

This year, sustainable travel continued to be important to the majority of Vietnamese travelers (96%). In addition, 99% said they wanted to make more sustainable travel choices and they considered themselves to have done so to some extent.

Travellers are taking a closer look at how to minimise their impact in the places they visit, such as seeking advice on visiting at other times of the year (44%) or choosing alternative destinations to popular destinations to avoid overcrowding (46%).