The General Statistics Office (GSO) reported that the number of foreign travelers to Vietnam in the first half of the year reached 5.6 million, or 70 percent of the yearly plan, or 66 percent of that in 2019. There were 64 million domestic travelers during the same period

The total revenue from travelers in the first half was VND343.1 trillion.

However, the chair of the Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA) Vu The Binh, at a conference discussing solutions to implement Resolution 82 on developing tourism said that though the number of foreign travelers had increased, the figure was still below expectations. Countries are competing all over the world, and people have had to tighten their purse strings. Meanwhile, the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues and the Chinese market has not fully recovered.

Domestic travelers remain the savior of the tourism industry. The boom in the number of domestic travelers on Tet and summer holidays is expected to help accommodations, restaurants and entertainment places, and offset revenue decreases caused by the absence of foreign travelers. 

Nevertheless, AZA Travel CEO Nguyen Tien Dat commented that the tourism industry’s performance in 2023 has been even more tragic than in 2022. Last year, Vietnam witnessed a boom in the number of domestic tourists as Covid-19 was contained and travelers still had money. 

But it appears that travelers are spending less money, while businesses are facing financial problems. The gap between the number of travelers and total revenue shows difficulties facing the tourism industry.

The number of domestic travelers during the 2023 Tet holiday was about 50 percent of the figure in 2022 Tet, but the revenue and number of travelers staying at accommodation facilities fell sharply. 

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), only 2 million out of 9 million travelers stayed at accommodation facilities, with total revenue from tourists down 30 percent.

VNAT deputy head Ha Van Sieu said that while demand is decreasing, supply is increasing and the number of new hotel rooms joining the market is rising too rapidly. Hotels, resorts and condotels in Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, Quang Ninh and Da Nang have been established recently. 

Meanwhile, analysts say that travel trends changed after the pandemic. People tend to take short tours and stay in homestays, villas, bungalows and camps, which has led to a decrease in demand for hotel rooms.

The oversupply of hotel rooms can be seen clearly in Da Nang and Nha Trang. Dat said Da Nang still can attract travelers thanks to the fireworks festivals and domestic travelers, but the situation in Nha Trang is especially bad. 

The hotel where he stayed recently had an occupancy rate of only 20 percent in the high season. Other hotels are facing the same problems, and many have shut down.

Hotels up for sale

As hotels cannot attract guests, owners have had to put hotels up for sale to pay bank debts.

VietinBank recently announced the sale of 396 land-use right certificates, which are assets mortgaged for loans. About 90 percent of the assets are villas and land plots which could be used to develop accommodation facilities, homestays, or 3-5-star hotels in Hanoi, Quang Nam, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, HCM City, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Can Tho.

The most valuable item on the list of assets for liquidation is a 5-star hotel in Da Nang, covering an area of 1,200 sqm, with 235 rooms, offered at VND600 billion.

There is also the land use right of the A2-6 land plot at Saphia hotel-condotel area and residential quarter, which is 1,432 sq.m. The prices are negotiable, but analysts said it is valued no less than hundreds of billions of VND.

In Quang Nam Province, a 4-star hotel in Hoi An ancient town, totaling 1,830 sq m, with 104 rooms and another 4-star hotel of 9,057 sq m, with 98 rooms are offered for VND420 billion each. A land plot of 1,786 sq m, which is a hotel with 137 rooms, is offered at VND366 billion.

VietinBank wants to sell a series of other land plots and 3-4-star hotels valued from tens of billions to VND260 billion in Hoi An.

According to VNAT, there were 235 5-star accommodation facilities by the end of June 2023 with 77,895 rooms, and 354 4-star facilities with 47,502 rooms.

Ngoc Ha