In 2019, before the pandemic, Vietnam welcomed 18 million foreign travelers, compared to 40 million in Thailand and 90 million in France, which received the highest number of foreign tourists worldwide, said Hung Pham from Wyndham Garden Cam Ranh Resort.

According to Hung, 13 million out of 90 million foreign travelers to France were from the UK. They went through the Manche tunnel to enter France easily. This is similar to Chinese tourists who cross the border to Vietnam. China’s zero-Covid policy has affected Vietnam’s tourism industry.

However, in 2019, Chinese travelers to Vietnam totalled only 5.8 million compared to 11 million to Thailand. Thailand suffered a more serious impact from the zero-Covid policy than Vietnam.

Hung said that a bright spot for Vietnam’s tourism industry in 2022 is the sharp rise of domestic travelers, up to 100 million, compared to 86 million in 2019. At Park Hyatt Saigon, the room rate was 6-7 million dong per night but the occupancy was up to 90 percent.

Bui Thi Thu Huyen from Renaissance Riverside Saigon said in November 2022, many hotels reported the highest ever revenue in rooms and banquets. This was unprecedented. 

Domestic travelers account for the overwhelming proportion compared with previous years. Vietnamese people tend to travel more. As for international markets, new markets are needed to celebrate special dates such as the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic relations, Huyen said.

Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) Tourism Development Research Institute, said that previously, Vietnam focused on the number of travelers rather than revenue, which must be changed now.

“It would be better to rely less on large familiar markets and pay more attention to exploiting new international markets such as India and the Middle East,” he said.

Tran Chung