The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) reported that nearly 10 million foreign travelers came to Vietnam in the first 10 months of the year, which increased by 4.6 times compared with the same period last year, but it is only 69 percent f the same period of 2019, before the pandemic outbreak. 

Meanwhile, the growth of domestic travelers slowed with 98.7 million people during the same time.

MCST Minister Nguyen Van Hung said that inbound tourism is recovering slowly.

According to Vu The Binh, chair of the Vietnam Tourism Association (VTA), the number of tourists increased rapidly after the tourism reopening, but has slowed down, especially domestic travelers. The number of foreign travelers has exceeded the targeted level (10 million vs 8 million), but this is attributed to the low target.

Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, chair of Vietjet Air, said 2023 is a period full of challenges and upheavals: airlines still cannot make a profit, while tourism, hotels and restaurants operate moderately.

At international destinations such as Phu Quoc, Nha Trang, Ha Long Bay and the Heritage Road in Central Vietnam (Hue - Da Nang - Hoi An), tens of thousands of hotel rooms have been idle, while entertainment activities and restaurants remain sluggish.

“We need to take action promptly to make destinations bustling again,” Thao said.

Hung pointed out that some key markets still have not regained pre-pandemic growth, while the exploration of new markets goes slowly and the resumption of the frequency of international routes is below expectation.

Meanwhile, Binh noted that the connection among regions, branches and businesses is weak, and Vo Tri Thanh, an economist, noted that Vietnam is not good at sales.

Promoting ads, expanding visa waiver 

Ngo Huong from Vinpearl said now is the time for Vietnam to create destinations which bear Vietnamese characteristics and international features, suitable to the globalization trend of the tourism industry.

Hung of MCST proposed short-term visa waiver for tourists from potential and large markets such as China and India, and expansion of the unilateral visa waiver for citizens from countries with higher development levels than Vietnam who spend more money on travel, such as Australia, Canada, the US and the remaining countries in the EU.

He said a pilot period for granting of visas at border gates to foreign travelers with on-site personnel approval should be done. Also, he suggested a pilot granting of long-term (3 year, 5 year) visas to attract high-end travelers and retirees.

Nguyen Manh Quyen, Hanoi’s Vice Mayor, thinks that MCST needs to build a master plan to promote Vietnam’s tourism in the international market. The ministry will preside over implementation of the plan which saves money and brings better effects.

Digital environment

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said in order to make a breakthrough in development, a business field needs a new space, new approach, new administration method and new technology.

New technology can bring opportunities for groundbreaking growth.

Operating in the digital environment, the space of the tourism industry will be much larger. The tourism sector will easily connect with other business fields, products and localities, thus expanding the concept of tourism.

Tourism faces difficulties when creating a value chain connecting clients and services. There are many service providers and if just one subject of the chain is inadequate, foreign travelers’ feelings can be negative.

Digital technology is the best answer to creating a tourism ecosystem and value chain connection.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, attending the conference on solutions to develop Vietnam’s held some days ago, pointed out a lot of problems in the tourism industry.

He said cooperation among ministries, branches and localities, especially in tourism product promotion and human resources development, remains ineffective. “Everyone for himself”, rather than cooperation, is what is happening in the tourism sector.

Meanwhile, tourism products don’t have focus, and there are not many special tourism products featuring Vietnamese characteristics.

Ngoc Ha