In many articles published recently, the problems of tourism have been criticized, including overcharging, lack of night-time entertainment, unprofessional marketing, lack of goods for shopping, and a complicated visa policy.

But in his article published several days ago, Danton Remoto, a Filipino journalist, was lavish in his praise of Vietnam’s tourism industry.

He wrote that Vietnam has succeeded in diversifying tourism products serving different tastes. From the noisy streets of Hanoi and HCM City streets to the quiet beauty of Ha Long Bay and the cultural charm of Hoi An ancient town, Vietnam offers diverse experiences.

Vietnam has also improved its position in the tourism industry by upgrading service quality, hospitality and safety standards. The nation has been nurturing a culture of hospitality, preparing its workforce to provide special services.

Vietnam has shown that it has both smiles and culture, as well as an infrastructure that can ensure safe and happy experiences for travelers. 

However, an article by a Filipino journalist is not enough to change the view of Vietnamese, many of whom say Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia are good examples for Vietnam to follow.

The international arrivals in 12 Southeast Asian countries, Northeast Asian countries, Australia, India, UAE, Egypt, and South Africa in 2010-2019, needs to be compared to Vietnam.

It is true that Vietnam has lagged far behind Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore in the number of foreign travelers, but the number of foreign travelers to Vietnam was higher than that of South Korea, Taiwan, Egypt, South Africa, and Indonesia, and far higher than India, Australia and the Philippines.

Egypt is the land of the famous pyramids and Alexandria. South Africa has European-style cities, primeval forests and rich wildlife. South Korea is famous for kimchi and K-pop. India is the homeland of Buddhism, while Indonesia has thousands of islands. However, the number of foreign tourists to these countries in 2019, or before the Covid-19 pandemic, was lower than in Vietnam.

Malaysia in 2019 attracted 26 million foreign travelers, while Vietnam had attract 18 million. However, of the 26 million, 10 million were Singaporean and 1.2 million were from Brunei, all traveling by land.

Many Singaporeans work in Singapore but live in Malaysia where they can live in villas instead of apartments. 

There is a high number of Singaporeans choosing to travel to Malaysia on weekends, similar to Hanoians going to Tam Dao, Ba Vi and Ha Long Bay on weekends.

So, if deducting the special Singaporean and Brunei travelers, the real foreign tourists to Malaysia is not much higher than Vietnam.

In other words, if counting the number of foreign travelers in 2019, compared with Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, India, Africa and Australia, Vietnam was only inferior to Thailand. Of course, Vietnam cannot be compared to tourism powerhouses in the region such as China and Japan.

Regarding the growth rate of foreign travelers to Vietnam in 2010-2019, Vietnam obtained the highest growth rate of 257.6 percent, the highest among the 12 surveyed countries, and even higher than Thailand (149.73 percent). In terms of the number of foreign travelers, Vietnam jumped from 11th out of 12 countries in 2010 to fourth in 2019.

There are still many problems that need to be settled to improve Vietnam’s tourism. However, Vietnamese people should not be too pessimistic about its status. 

Do Cao Bao (member of the board of directors of the Vietnamese IT Group FPT)