Are Koreans increasingly 'crazy' about traveling to Vietnam?

Top Korean Resort

"I will definitely take my parents to Da Nang from now until the end of the year. The plan from 2021 was postponed due to the Covid-19 epidemic. My parents are really looking forward to this trip," said Lee Chen (28 years old, from Seoul) while pointing to a poster with a picture of the Golden Ball on top of Ba Na Hills posted at the entrance to a subway station in Seoul. As a tour guide for the Thai market, Lee has twice led Thai tourists to Vietnam, but each time they only stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for no more than 3 days. She quickly made friends with some Vietnamese tour guides and had many beautiful memories with the city named after Uncle Ho. However, Lee has not had the opportunity to experience the beautiful beaches in Nha Trang, Da Nang, Phu Quoc - images that have left an impression of Vietnam on her through commercials and reality TV shows she watched in her home country.

Nha Trang is one of the top attractive destinations for Korean tourists.

"I used to like the sea, but after watching Taecyeon (a member of the Korean boy band 2PM - PV) on his journey to Vietnam to film for "Battle Trip" - a Korean reality TV show about travel, I really wanted to go to Hanoi . I also want to wear a conical hat, ride a cyclo and eat bun cha like him. But my parents still like to go to Da Nang the most. They like the sea and want to go to the hand-shaped bridge. Many Koreans love that bridge. So on this trip, we will fly straight to Da Nang and then stop in Ho Chi Minh City, with some of my Vietnamese friends to visit Hanoi. Will two weeks be enough?", the 28-year-old Korean girl could not hide her excitement.

As Lee Chen said, in recent years, Koreans have been very "crazy" about traveling to Vietnam. According to a survey from InterNations in 2022, with the advantage of owning a long and beautiful coastline, Vietnam has surpassed China, Japan and European countries to become the leading resort destination for Korean tourists. As soon as Vietnam reopened tourism, all destinations from North to South, from Da Nang , Nha Trang to

Sa Pa... quickly welcomed visitors from the Korean market. According to the General Statistics Office, in 2022, tourists from the "land of kimchi" accounted for the largest proportion of the total number of international visitors to Vietnam at 26.5%, reaching nearly 1 million visitors. In Khanh Hoa alone, after officially opening to international visitors from May 2022, Cam Ranh International Airport welcomed nearly 150,000 visitors from Korea, accounting for nearly 75% of the total number of international visitors here. Besides Nha Trang, Da Nang is considered the most attractive destination for Korean visitors.

According to travel agencies, Korean tourists tend to stay in one place for a long time to relax. Therefore, they choose to fly directly to quiet coastal cities such as Nha Trang, Da Nang or Phu Quoc.

Increasingly diverse products attract Korean customers

The influx of Korean tourists to Vietnam not only has a big impact on tourism growth but also attracts international media. In 2018, a Hong Kong newspaper published an article exploring the reasons why Koreans love Vietnam so much. According to the newspaper's explanation, in addition to Koreans often watching programs introducing Vietnamese culture and cuisine, the large number of Korean restaurants from eateries to convenience stores... in Vietnam makes Koreans very impressed. Vietnamese youth are also greatly influenced by Korean culture through music, movies, and fashion, making Koreans feel close to home. In particular, the love of Vietnamese fans for national football team coach Park Hang-seo is also one of the interesting reasons why Koreans have sympathy for Vietnam.

Tourism expert Nguyen Van Thanh, former Vice President of Khanh Hoa Tourism Association, recalls the period of 2015 - 2016, when more Koreans began to travel to Vietnam, many large Vietnamese tourism businesses went to the neighboring country to research the market, learn deeply about their culture, cuisine, customs and practices to build a suitable product ecosystem. During the boom of Korean tourists in 2018 - 2019, many delegations of Korean culinary culture centers continued to come to Nha Trang to "teach" Korean drumming, Korean folk dances as well as how to prepare traditional dishes of this country.

Along with the advantages of scenic spots, careful preparation of products, service systems, and infrastructure has successfully helped Nha Trang in particular and Vietnam in general become the top favorite destination of Korean people. In 2019, when Korea continuously surpassed China to become the market with the highest growth rate of visitors to Vietnam, with only one resort, Vinpearl Nha Trang, it also set a goal of welcoming about 1 million Korean visitors in 2020, tripling the total number of Korean visitors to Nha Trang in 2019.

"If it weren't for the Covid-19 pandemic, I think that goal would be completely achievable. Koreans coming to Vietnam love to explore new experiences such as scuba diving, singing, especially exploring Vietnamese cuisine. Koreans love seafood. However, there is one factor that they love the most, which is the Korean atmosphere that pervades everywhere, giving them a sense of familiarity. Signs with Korean characters, menus in restaurants with Korean, grilled food and kimchi shops everywhere, and then seeing Vietnamese people dancing Korean folk dances, playing drums, cooking their traditional food... All of that makes them feel proud of their nation and find Vietnamese people lovable, coming to Vietnam is as warm as being at home," said Mr. Thanh.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, in the past, cheap prices were always one of the attractive factors of Vietnam for Korean tourists. Travel costs including airfare, hotels and food in Vietnam are much cheaper than from Korea to Japan or China... However, the Vietnamese tourism industry is trying to diversify its products with the goal of attracting wealthy tourists from Korea. Among them, the most potential is golf tourism. In 2019, Korea alone had 5 million visitors to Vietnam, of which more than 1 million came to play golf. This number of visitors can contribute 2 - 3 billion USD to the tourism industry. If this segment is done well, Vietnam will become an ideal destination for all types of Korean tourists.

After airlines began to resume international flights to Da Nang, a major Korean travel agency counted and confirmed that the number of package tour bookings to Da Nang in June 2022 by Koreans had skyrocketed by more than 3,000% compared to the previous month. The number of ticket reservations also increased by 337%.

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