Opening up international visitors to Vietnam

Breakthrough from emerging markets

According to a report by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism , the total number of international visitors to Vietnam in the first four months of the year reached 6.2 million, an increase of 68.3% over the same period in 2023, and an increase of 3.9% compared to the golden period of the tourism industry in 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak.

The top five key markets for international tourists to Vietnam in the recent period include: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines. The most impressive growth also comes from emerging markets. According to the Klook platform, Indonesian tourists lead the way with an 8-fold increase in demand for travel to Vietnam compared to the same period last year. Taiwan follows with a 5-fold increase and Europe ranks third with a 4-fold increase. These figures show that the source of international tourists to Vietnam is strongly diversifying.

The most prominent is Phu Quoc ( Kien Giang ). If in the past, Phu Quoc people often said to each other "when you step out on the street, you will meet Russian guests", then after a period of time when this source of guests decreased for many reasons, the gap has gradually been filled by the pearl island. In the first 4 months of the year, Kien Giang welcomed 221,657 Korean visitors, compared to 83,600 visitors in the first 4 months of 2023, the increase rate was up to 165%. In particular, Taiwanese visitors to Kien Giang increased sharply by 1,100%, from 6,838 visitors in the first 4 months of 2023 to 82,135 visitors in the first 4 months of 2024. Statistics show that about 90% of the above Korean and Taiwanese visitors have come to Phu Quoc.

Foreign tourists enjoy a series of new super impressive experiences in Phu Quoc

Similarly, while in the same period last year, a series of accommodation establishments in Nha Trang - Khanh Hoa were still waiting for guests from mainland China; restaurant chains and massage systems along the coast only dared to reopen 60% of their operations because there were not many international guests, by now, tourism activities in the coastal city have almost completely returned to the bustling state they were in before the Covid-19 pandemic. Currently, there are 17 flights from South Korea and 16 flights from China to Khanh Hoa every day; the markets of Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia have 5-7 flights per week.

Although the Russian tourist market still faces many difficulties due to the lack of direct flights, since the end of February, IrAero Airlines (Russia) has operated the route Irkutsk (Russia) - Shijiazhuang (China) - Cam Ranh with a frequency of 1 flight/week. Vietravel Nha Trang branch also plans to coordinate with Japanese partners to organize 6 charter flights bringing Japanese tourists to Khanh Hoa for vacation this year.

For Quang Nam, the structure of the tourist market is also more diverse and balanced. From the second half of 2023 to now, Korea is still the largest tourist market with a rate of more than 22% but is no longer as overwhelming as before (in 2018 - 2019, there was a time when this market accounted for 32 - 33% of the total structure of international visitors to Quang Nam). In the top 10 largest international tourist markets of Quang Nam, there are all groups of tourists, including traditional markets such as the UK, Australia, the US, Germany; there is the Northeast Asian market group - Korea, mainland China, Taiwan; besides, there is also the ASEAN market with Malaysia and Thailand; especially the emerging market of India is also on this list.

Intra-bloc tourism is on the rise, visitors from far away flock to visit

Explaining the sudden growth of visitors from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and most recently the Indian market, Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc, CEO of Outbox Consulting, commented that this is a true result of the rising trend of intra-bloc tourism. Specifically, tourists will prioritize trips using short flights (1-2 hours, no more than 8 hours) to destinations within the region. For example, 40% of international visitors to Southeast Asia in 2023 will be from the Asia-Pacific market (excluding China); more than 50% of tourists in the European market come from countries in this continent. For Vietnam alone, the intra-bloc market currently accounts for 81% of total international visitors. This trend has been accelerated and strengthened by the pandemic and is forecast to continue in the coming time due to the impact of widespread geopolitical conflicts, leading to a global economic crisis, and increasingly tight travel spending budgets.

"It is forecasted that by 2027, Asia will be the market with the largest scale and spending in the world, especially in the context of the booming Indian market and the return of Chinese tourists. Not to mention, the growth of the new middle class in Asia is very strong. Therefore, the source of tourists from the Asian market will continue to dominate and remain the main "gold mine" for the Vietnamese tourism industry to exploit," said Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc.

It is forecasted that by 2027, Asia will be the largest market in terms of size and spending in the world, especially in the context of the booming Indian market and the return of Chinese tourists. Not to mention, the growth of the new middle class in Asia is very strong. Therefore, the source of tourists from the Asian market will continue to dominate and remain the main "gold mine" for the Vietnamese tourism industry to exploit.

Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc, CEO Outbox Consulting

However, this does not mean that distant, non-bloc markets such as Europe and America are not growing. In fact, while Korean visitors are declining, the return of European and Australian visitors is a turning point for Quang Nam tourism in the first months of this year. Ms. Phan Thi Ngoc Lan, General Director of Hoi An Beach Resort, informed that since the beginning of the year, the number of guests registering to stay at the hotel has been quite large, averaging over 50%, most of them coming from the European and Australian markets, with room occupancy rates reaching over 90% at some times. In 2023, Hoi An Beach's room occupancy rate will only reach nearly 40%.

According to Ms. Lan, the factor that makes European and Australian tourists return to Hoi An is first of all thanks to the attractive, safe, and friendly destination brand... In addition, some European airlines, after a period of stagnation due to the impact of the epidemic, conflicts, and economic crisis, have begun to increase promotions and stimulate demand to help air tickets have better prices. "The key is the open visa policy, helping visitors have more time on their sightseeing journey when coming to Vietnam. At Hoi An Beach, the average stay of European and Australian visitors is about 3 - 4 nights, some even register to stay for 10 - 15 days, in some cases over 20 days", Ms. Phan Thi Ngoc Lan added.

Tourists from European markets flock to Vietnam by ship

A preliminary survey of some businesses and tourist attractions in Hoi An City showed that most of them saw a large number of European and Australian visitors returning, mainly the elderly. Some popular destinations include Tra Que vegetable village, Thanh Ha pottery, Cam Thanh water coconut forest, etc. In Tra Que vegetable village alone, it is estimated that in the first 3 months of the year, it welcomed more than 7,000 European and Australian visitors, an increase of nearly 122% over the same period in 2023, even 11% higher than the same period in 2019. Similarly, in Cam Thanh water coconut forest, European visitors have risen to second place in the visitor structure, after South Korea and above Vietnamese visitors.

Data from the National Tourism Administration also recorded that in the past 4 months, tourist markets in Europe all grew vigorously, such as France increased by 29.3%, Italy increased by 27.1%, the UK increased by 15%, Germany increased by 15.8%... These are markets that enjoy a unilateral visa exemption policy to enter Vietnam with a temporary stay of up to 45 days.

"Sweet fruit" from effective advertising and promotion activities

It can be seen that after the Covid-19 epidemic was controlled, many airlines and travel agencies have proactively sought new potential markets such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, etc. by increasing the frequency of direct flights between the two sides. Thanks to that, the growth rate of the market has accelerated dramatically. The most typical example is the Indian market. Before the epidemic, Indian tourists seemed to be "invisible" on the source market map of Vietnamese tourism. It was not until the end of 2019 when Vietjet opened the first two routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi - New Delhi, that Vietnam officially had direct flights to India.

To date, Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines have been operating a total of more than 10 routes connecting many of our tourist destinations with famous cities in India, paving the way for a series of strong destination promotion programs from national to local levels. If in the first 4 months of 2023, the total number of Indian visitors to Vietnam by air (only counting Vietnamese airlines) reached more than 220,000, then in the first 4 months of this year, our country's tourism industry welcomed nearly 350,000 Indian visitors, an increase of nearly 40%.

A representative of Vietnam Airlines said: 2024 marks the year with the most Indians traveling abroad in history. The rapidly growing middle class in India (nearly 20 million people are expected to join the middle class in the next 5 years), convenient transportation, strong tourism demand... are factors driving this record growth. Since the addition of direct flights, Vietnam has witnessed a 2.5-fold increase in the number of Indian tourists compared to 2019. This also strengthens the strength of travel demand in the region.

Looking at the market as a whole, a representative of Vietnam Airlines observed that tourists from international markets to Vietnam in general have increased, with visitors from Taiwan, South Korea, and India accounting for a large number, as the demand for Vietnamese destinations is rapidly increasing in these market areas. In particular, the promotion of coastal destinations such as Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Da Nang, etc., which has been focused on in recent times, has initially brought "sweet fruit".

"With the visa policy lifted, Phu Quoc has an advantage over other destinations and is now receiving many direct flights - both regular and charter flights from domestic and foreign airlines. In the coming period, Vietnam is expected to become a popular destination in Southeast Asia and has the potential to replace Thailand if we have a synchronous policy on developing tourism infrastructure. At the same time, we will continue to have support mechanisms to stimulate tourism demand from ministries, departments, localities and large enterprises," a representative of Vietnam Airlines proposed.

Group of 10 largest tourist markets of Vietnam in the first quarter of 2024

Mr. Nguyen Chau A, General Director of Oxalis Adventure, also emphasized that promotion and advertising are key factors to attract international visitors to Vietnam in the context of rapidly changing tourism trends today. Travel behavior has changed a lot since the pandemic. Independent travel has exploded, and searching for trips based on online platforms has almost dominated all customer search trends. Therefore, if businesses want to reach many new customer streams, they are forced to switch to the B2C model - selling products directly to customers. This requires each company to do well from marketing to products, distribution, sales services... In which, the prerequisite is communication, promotion, and brand promotion. We must let tourists know what the destination has to offer, so they can find us.

"Searching for keywords of some destinations, we can see that Bangkok has 1.3 million searches in 1 month, Chiang Mai has more than 419,000 searches; while Ho Chi Minh City searches for both keywords "Hochiminh City" and "Saigon" only get 500,000 searches. We hope to surpass Bali but the number of searches for this island is even "more terrible", up to 3.1 million, many times higher than Ho Chi Minh City or other localities in Vietnam. That is the reason why they welcome more visitors than us. If we do not do a good job of introducing destinations and building destination brands, then everything we do is meaningless. If tourists do not search, businesses that provide anything will have difficulty accessing and having customers," Mr. Nguyen Chau A cited.

From there, he proposed that the tourism industry needs to classify key market groups and have appropriate product development strategies for each market. It can be classified into English-speaking markets, Chinese-speaking markets... and other markets. At the same time, develop tourism products suitable for each market to meet the needs of different audiences. Products for Asian and European-American customers should not be combined because their needs are completely different. At the same time, develop methodical destination marketing strategies with specific goals and plans to achieve the goals.

Unlock visa to increase Western tourists

We have just participated in the International Cruise Fair (SEATRADE). American partners are very interested in cruise tours to Vietnam, but the biggest obstacle that makes them hesitate to open cruise routes is visas. Each cruise ship carries thousands of passengers, and visa procedures are the most "scariest". American and European tourists often travel for long periods of time, 2-3 weeks, even months. They have taken the trouble to fly far, so they often want to experience many countries, travel on multiple routes. However, when a ship docks in Vietnam, they have to apply for a visa, when they arrive in Myanmar, they have to apply for another visa, and then to Laos, it is the same..., both difficult and costly. Meanwhile, last year Saigontourist welcomed 2-3 ships bringing nearly ten thousand German tourists to Vietnam, simply because they did not need a visa. This shows that visa procedures are an extremely important key. If this key is unlocked, the number of Western tourists coming to Vietnam will increase significantly, both by air and by sea.

Mr. Vo Viet Hoa , Director of International Tourism, Saigontourist Travel Service Company

International tourism to reach 97% of pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2024

According to the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism), in the first quarter of 2024, there were more than 285 million international tourists globally, up more than 20% compared to the same period in 2023 and reaching 97% of pre-pandemic levels. Of which, the Middle East is the region with the strongest growth, welcoming international visitors in the first 3 months of 2024 exceeding 36% of pre-pandemic levels. Europe is the world's largest destination region, surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time in a quarter (up 1% compared to the same period in 2019). This region recorded 120 million international tourists in the first 3 months of the year, thanks to strong demand from intra-regional tourism. Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific region saw a strong recovery in international tourist arrivals, with arrivals reaching 82% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter. According to UN Tourism's forecast, international tourism will fully recover by 2024, with arrivals increasing by 2% compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/khai-mo-nguon-khach-quoc-te-den-vn-185240522222441284.htm