Looking to attract high-end tourists

In the first 10 months of 2024, international arrivals to Vietnam reached more than 14.1 million, an increase of 41.3% over the same period last year. Although the number of visitors increased and the target of welcoming 18 million international visitors in 2024 is feasible, it is worth mentioning that tourists with high spending levels are still quite modest. Why is that, while we have so much potential?

On August 29, nearly 1,400 tourists in the group of 4,500 guests of the Indian billionaire visited Ha Long Bay ( Quang Ninh ).

Untapped potential

According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong, tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, interdisciplinary, inter-regional, deeply connected, and highly socialized. Doing tourism is the responsibility of society and tourism entities. In 2024, the Vietnamese tourism industry aims to welcome 17-18 million international tourists, and in 10 months we have welcomed more than 14 million visitors.

However, the main point here is that the number of customers with low and medium spending levels, and customers in the high-end segment is still modest. While Vietnam has a lot of potential to attract super-rich customers, because of the diversity and richness of its natural landscape, even many unique destinations are still on the journey to be discovered. Vietnam is also a country rich in culture and history; helping tourists have deep experiences with local culture.

Why is that? According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh - Permanent Vice President and General Secretary of the Hanoi Tourism Association, although Vietnam has developed many high-end resorts and hotels, the transport infrastructure and support services (hospitals, utilities) are not yet fully developed. This can limit the tourist experience compared to other high-end destinations in the region. Along with that, some tourism services such as restaurants, tours, and tour guides do not meet international standards or are inconsistent in quality, thereby affecting the overall experience of high-end tourists.

“In addition, although there are many attractive destinations, the number of luxury and unique tourism products such as cruises, resorts combined with cultural experiences, high-end health care, or tours according to individual requests is still quite limited compared to countries in the region such as Thailand, Singapore, or Bali,” Ms. Oanh informed.

From the perspective of businesses operating in the tourism sector, Mr. Le Cong Nang - General Director of Wonder Tour Travel Company believes that the reason why Vietnam has not effectively exploited this potential customer segment is because Vietnamese tourism products still lack uniqueness, distinction and do not really aim at the personalized experience needs of luxury travelers.

“We lack international-class resorts like Amanoi Ninh Thuan, cultural and historical discovery tours combined with exquisite cuisine, or luxury cruises like Paradise Cruises on Ha Long Bay... Along with that, the service is not commensurate with expectations. From infrastructure, quality of accommodation and culinary services to the quality of tourism human resources, many aspects still do not fully meet the expectations of luxury tourists” - Director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute Pham Hai Quynh said.

Tourists enjoy the variety of souvenirs in Vietnam. Photo: P.Sy.

Need attractive products, enough range

According to tourism experts, to welcome high-end tourists, the first thing the tourism industry needs to do is to grasp the needs of customers. It is impossible to use ordinary tourism products to welcome luxury tourists. Sometimes many things are luxurious and flashy for us, but for high-end customers, it is not so. From cuisine, service to utility services, everything must satisfy their desires and preferences.

According to research by Oxford Economics, a global economic consultancy, high-end customers are interested in unique and highly competitive service quality. The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the needs of tourists in the direction that tourists need more value for each trip. This is the reason why more and more people choose high-end travel with the desire to enjoy new, unique and classy experiences.

Recently, many stars, billionaires, and international businessmen have chosen private travel experiences in Vietnam. For example, in March 2024, billionaire Bill Gates and his girlfriend traveled by private jet to Da Nang. 3 groups of super-rich guests visited P'apiu resort (Ha Giang). Most recently, in mid-October 2024, 5 private jets brought 50 billionaire customers from all over the world to Da Nang to attend a conference of the luxury aircraft brand Gulfstream and visit tourist attractions...

Director of the National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh said that Vietnam has great potential to become a quality destination, welcoming high-class tourist groups. However, to attract high-class tourists, it is necessary to promote the role of businesses and localities in linking products, perfecting high-quality service processes and standards, and forming an ecosystem to provide high-class products and services to tourists. Along with that, prices must be at an appropriate level to create a competitive advantage.

In addition to the positive results, the development of high-quality tourism in Vietnam is not commensurate with its potential. Therefore, according to Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, in the coming time, it is necessary to promote market research, grasp the needs of high-end tourists; invest in developing high-end tourism products, focusing on unique, original, individual/personalized, sophisticated elements associated with culture, in harmony with nature and the environment in experiential products and services; upgrade service quality in a professional direction, bringing complete experiences to high-end tourists; focus on training and improving the quality of human resources serving high-end tourists; promote in-depth promotion, focusing on market segments, products, services, destinations and high-end tourism brands, taking advantage of famous people to promote Vietnam.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Oanh also said that to attract higher-spending international visitors, Vietnam needs to invest more heavily in infrastructure, improve service quality, develop unique tourism products and promote its brand. In particular, encourage the development of resorts, 5-star hotels, coastal resorts, eco-resorts and high-end tourism services such as yachts, golf, spas, health care, etc.

In addition, it is necessary to diversify tourism activities combining cultural experiences, high-class cuisine, and tours of heritage sites and beautiful landscapes exclusively for VIP guests. Focus on developing major international events, conferences, and high-class seminars to attract international tourists, especially businessmen. Encourage and support Vietnamese enterprises to develop tourism products and services according to international standards.

Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh:

The Vietnam National Tourism Administration has also proposed policies to support the development of high-end tourism products such as: Cruise tourism needs to simplify procedures, support investment, improve infrastructure, ports, waiting rooms, and diversify tours to extend the length of stay of tourists; golf tourism needs to reduce special consumption tax for golfers who are international tourists (from 20% to 10% or 5%); MICE tourism needs to host international events with many incentives; shopping and entertainment tourism needs to attract large investors to build high-end entertainment and shopping centers; event tourism needs to increase the exploitation of diplomatic, trade, economic and investment events, fairs... of international scale.

In addition, in addition to the Government's macro policies, businesses need to proactively cooperate closely with each other and with local authorities to promote their strengths from building policy mechanisms, developing products and services, promoting, and serving high-end tourists, which requires high professionalism and selective destinations and experiential products. Thereby, forming an ecosystem that provides high-end products and services for luxury tourists.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/tim-cach-thu-hut-khach-du-lich-cao-cap-10294683.html