Vietnam’s tourism industry: The period “Go ahead, but slow down”
In the first few months of 2023, Vietnamese tourism marks a strong recovery in domestic and international tourist numbers. Precisely, from updates from VIRAC, domestic tourist numbers are estimated to reach 13 million – 1.6 times higher than in the same period last year.
In addition, the number of international tourists visiting Vietnam in January 2023 is nearly 872,000, an increase of 23.2% compared to December 2022 and 44.2 times higher than the same period in 2022. The revenue from tourism in January 2023 is estimated to reach 2,200 billion dongs, an increase of 113.4% compared to the same period last year.
Vietnam’s tourism industry in the period “Go ahead, but slow down”
However, compared to the pre-pandemic period, the number of international tourists visiting Vietnam after Covid-19 is not as expected. Statistics from the Tourism General Department show that in 2022, Vietnam only welcomed 3.66 million international tourists.
The number of tourists in January 2023 decreased by nearly half (42%) compared to the same period in 2019 – before the pandemic occurred.
“Going ahead, but slow down” is a phrase used to describe Vietnamese tourism that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh mentioned during an online meeting with provinces and cities on the occasion of one year since the country fully reopened after Covid-19 (March 15, 2022 – March 15, 2023).
The fact is that the number of tourists from China – Vietnam’s main market, due to their pursuit of zero Covid policy, has been almost absent from tourist destinations since the outbreak until now.
Furthermore, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine also had a significant impact on the number of tourists who are considered “familiar” to Vietnam in the past year.
The development of the tourism market is uneven, with tourist sources only concentrated in a few countries, and when there are incidents leading to the disruption of plans.
Many reasons have been pointed out by central government departments, but it can be clearly seen that, besides the natural landscapes, we are almost too passive in presenting tourist attractions, called “tourism products” to both attract and retain tourists and welcome them back as other countries have done.
Moreover, the “difficulty” of domestic tourism at present is the proportion of tourists taking package tours, long-staying tourists, tourist spending, and the occupancy rate of hotels tending to decrease. At the same time, the psychology of tightening spending is still evident in the context of an economy that has not truly recovered.
Deputy Director of the Tourism General Department, Ha Van Sieu, also pointed out that the pressure of inflation, exchange rates, and interest rates increasing, along with the pandemic, climate change, and natural disasters continuing to develop abnormally, have had a more severe impact.
Therefore, domestic tourism continues to grow, but the pace will slow down.
Solutions to overcome the period “Going ahead, but slow down”
Improving quality and products
The Prime Minister has hit the most important bottlenecks that have put Vietnam’s tourism industry into the paradox of “going early and coming late” after 1 year of reopening.
Firstly, it is necessary to create unique tourism products that embody cultural identities that are different and distinctive. Only then can we expect to have a stable number of tourists like what Thailand has achieved. If we only rely on the natural beauty that we have been blessed with, it will eventually bore tourists.
In a series of solutions and tasks highlighted at the mid-week conference, it is noteworthy that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested the continued research and improvement of policies on immigration procedures.
The aim is to increase the number of countries exempt from visas and extend the duration of stay with reasonable fees.
Currently, Vietnam only exempts visas for 24 countries unilaterally and bilaterally, with the usual duration of stay being only about 15 days and single entry only. Regarding the visa issue, it is proposed to extend the visa term from 2 to 4 weeks for tourists who plan to stay longer to travel more.
Vietnam will create conditions for domestic and international airlines to open direct routes connecting Vietnam with important and potential markets.
It is clear that we are “inviting guests but closing the door”, so it is understandable that tourists hesitate to come. More than anyone else, the head of the government understands this, so he has affirmed the need to open the door instead of keeping it slightly ajar as it is now.
Enhancing tourism promotion
Minister Nguyen Van Hung emphasized that Vietnam has been stepping up information and communication work in promoting and advertising tourism. Also organizing many cultural, sports, and tourism events to boost the rapid recovery of the tourism industry.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also issued a marketing strategy for the development until 2030 to be implemented.
In particular, they organized tourism communication programs on digital platforms with the slogan “Vietnam – Đi Để Yêu” in two languages, English and Vietnamese.
The tourism industry has proactively coordinated with ministries, sectors, localities, and tourism associations to organize many events to launch and announce the reopening of tourism under the new normal conditions, and to communicate the message “Let’s shine & Live fully” during the period of market reopening.
Actively applying technology
The current infrastructure, public services, and tourism information systems do not meet the demand. The digital transformation in tourism has not been strong enough; there has not been the construction, synchronization, and integration of databases between the central and local levels, and between the tourism industry and other sectors.
Therefore, a smart tourism ecosystem is gradually being formed on the basis of the Vietnam tourism database system, with many other technology products supporting tourism management and business.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has also worked with the Ministry of Public Security to connect data based on Project 6…
Vision and strategy of the tourism industry for the future
To continue the development of Vietnam’s tourism, the tourism industry has set targets for 2023: 8 million international tourists, 102 million domestic tourists, and total tourism revenue of around 650 trillion VND.
This target can only be achieved by seizing opportunities, overcoming challenges, and ensuring the efficient and sustainable recovery and development of Vietnam’s tourism. The focus is on maintaining the growth rate of domestic tourism, which is truly the “pillar” and main driving force of the entire industry.
In addition to that, it is necessary to improve service quality, diversify tourism products, and develop infrastructure and technical facilities to serve tourists.
At the same time, there is a need to expand training programs, attract tourism human resources, and promote tourism to create favorable conditions for international tourists to come to Vietnam.
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