VietNamNet Bridge - Experts and travel firms have conflicting views about the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) survey of international travelers in 2017, which found that 93.5 percent of travelers found their visit ‘satisfactory’ or ‘very satisfactory’, and less than 1 percent ‘unsatisfactory’.

Foreign travelers feel satisfactory about their trips to Vietnam

The survey was conducted with 27,000 questionnaires released at 12 international border gates throughout the country. The interviewed travelers came to Vietnam by air, land or through four ports. Of these, 60 percent were here for the first time and 40 percent for the second and subsequent times.

Nguyen Van My from Lua Viet Travel said: “I believe that even Singapore and Thailand cannot get such perfect statistics.”

He questions the statistical method which cannot ensure objectivity and fairness.

“The statistics released recently in education, economy and tourism have raised doubts,” he commented. “People have every reason to doubt, because the reported figures do not truly reflect the real situation.”

My of Lua Viet Travel, citing scandals occurring recently with foreign travelers, including locals’ cheating and fighting with them, said the survey results are questionable. 

“Some days ago we heard that a foreign traveler was knocked down bleeding. Later, local newspapers reported travelers’ wallets were robbed. The complaints about littering appear so regularly on mass media,” My said. “How can foreign travelers feel satisfied with such problems?”

Meanwhile, an analyst said he was surprised by VNAT’s report that 40.4 percent of travelers return to Vietnam for the second and subsequent times. He commented that the figure may ‘raise curiosity’, because even Thailand doesn’t have such a high proportion.

“I am doubtful about the accuracy of the given figures. As far as I know, only 10 percent of travelers come back to Vietnam, while the others come just for business purposes.

Vu Hoai Phuong from the Hue Tourism Vocational College was surprised about the high percentage of foreign travelers feeling satisfied about tours to Vietnam. 

Phuong said VNAT should ask travelers to comment about accommodations and meals in hotels. The surveyor did not learn about the quality of other non-hotel services, such as behavior, culture, professionalism, hospitality and infrastructure conditions.

In 2017, Vietnam welcomed more than 13 million foreign visitors, or 3 million travelers higher than the year before, and served 73.2 million domestic tourists to earn $23 billion. It plans to attract 15 million foreign travelers this year.

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