Foreign tourists visiting central Thừa Thiên-Huế prefecture. — VNA/VNS Photo
HOI NOI — Despite the significant increase in foreign tourists to Vietnam, domestic travel companies are still looking for visitors.
This is the paradox of Vietnam's hospitality industry, insiders say.
Tourism experts say many foreign tourists do not book package tours or rarely use the services of travel agencies, except for small-cost travel agencies. As a result, the profitability of Vietnamese travel companies is low.
Võ Việt Hòa, director of outbound tourism at Saigontourist Travel Services, said the statistics show an increase in Korean visitors to Vietnam. However, Vietnamese companies have not yet benefited from this surge as they are not able to provide comprehensive package services. For example, Saigontourist only offers car rental services, which it calls the “difficult” segment.
As for Japanese tourists, they are on a tight budget and Vietnam is not their top destination. Similarly, Chinese tourists are also shifting their travel preferences away from Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Hoa said.
Current visa policies are already quite relaxed but need to be made more attractive. Since Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore waive visas for Chinese tourists, Hoa said Vietnam should have a similar visa-free policy for tourists from major markets.
Vu Tha Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said that although the overall number has increased, there has not been a significant increase in tour bookings.
Mr. Vinh said that although Vietnam has natural resources, environment and other conditions to develop tourism, the sector has not made significant progress.
While Korean and Japanese tourists have pursued their own preferences over the past 20 years, Chinese tourists are making a slow, albeit less dramatic, comeback. Affordable tours for Chinese tourists are making a comeback.
Mr Binh emphasized the importance of developing the right products to attract tourists, which requires appropriate policies.
He added that many regions that host festivals are confused about whether to attract domestic or international tourists. A national tourism promotion strategy is needed because foreign tourists do not have enough time and attention to attend festivals organized by local governments in various places.
At the same time, Binh said local governments need to secure funds to carry out promotional campaigns based on strategies to attract international tourists.
Meanwhile, Mr. Hua proposed setting up tourism promotion offices in Europe, America, ASEAN, and China. These offices will help to better promote Vietnam's hospitality sector and attract international tourists to Vietnam.
According to the Vietnam National Tourism Administration (VNAT), in the first four months of this year, the country's tourism sector received more than 6.2 million foreign tourists and more than 40.5 million domestic tourists, generating a total of VND 271.4 trillion (approx. billion USD) in revenue.
According to statistics, the number of international visitors increased by 68.3 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
South Korea continued to be the largest source of foreign tourists with 1.6 million arrivals, accounting for 25.8 percent of the total international arrivals to Vietnam. This was followed by mainland China, Taiwan, the United States, and Japan.
The number of Asians visiting Vietnam increased by 77.2% year-on-year, making Asia the region's main tourist source. At the same time, tourists from Europe, including major markets such as the UK (35.2 per cent), France (41.7 per cent) and Germany (36.9 per cent), have significantly increased thanks to favorable visa policies that have been in place since August 15, 2023. continued to increase. ), Italy (77.4 percent), Spain (48.5 percent), and Russia (74 percent). —VNS
