Vietnamese tourism attracts Cambodian tourists.

In some years, the number of Cambodian tourists visiting Vietnam reached nearly 1 million, and this trend is showing signs of recovery after the pandemic. According to businesses, domestic tourism products still lack investment and promotion to attract this group of tourists.

Stay longer

Mr. Pham Ngoc Ha, Deputy General Director of Saco Travel Company, said that they are receiving a large number of tourists from the Cambodian market, especially on weekends. These day-trip tourists mainly come from three provinces bordering Tay Ninh.

Particularly during the recent 10-day Vietnamese Lunar New Year holiday, there was a huge influx of Cambodian tourists, forcing this business to mobilize all its vehicles and staff to serve visitors who came to the temple and enjoyed themselves in the Ba Den mountain area.

One issue is that this group of tourists doesn't stay for long periods, so businesses are currently focusing primarily on quantity in this market and are gradually shifting towards quality, as this group's spending is mostly budget-friendly, with few high-end customers yet.

Most Cambodian tourists only visit for the day, but since the pandemic, the number of tourists staying for 1-2 days has started to increase. Recently, the company has also served many groups with 4-day, 3-night trips to Ho Chi Minh City.

"We recently organized several Cambodian tour groups to Da Nang and Hoi An. They really enjoyed the scenery in Vietnam. In addition, destinations like Da Lat and Phu Quoc are also becoming popular with Cambodian tourists," Mr. Ngoc Ha said.

Particularly in Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), there is a large influx of Cambodian tourists arriving by sea via the Ha Tien border gate. This group of tourists tends to prefer high-end services and stay longer than the average.

According to Mr. Truong Duc Hai, director of Hon Ngoc Vien Dong Tourism Company, previously, when developing tour products to the Cambodian market, the company also organized a "reciprocal" route bringing tourists from Cambodia to Vietnam, but the number of tourists was very limited, so the tour could not be sustained.

However, in recent years, the number of wealthy Cambodian tourists visiting Vietnam has been gradually increasing. They prefer Vietnamese coastal areas such as Vung Tau and Nha Trang, and this demand is clearer than before. "Looking closely at the Cambodian tourist group, the majority still come to Vietnam for medical treatment. We still lack complete products for this type of tour," Mr. Hai lamented.

Reduce entry times and increase connectivity to attract tourists.

Mr. Tran Quoc Thinh, director of the Tay Ninh Provincial Tourism Promotion Center, said that the province has many advantages in welcoming Cambodian tourists as it borders three provinces of Cambodia with three international border gates and 10 sub-border gates.

Cambodian tourists can be considered traditional visitors to the province, as a large number flock here during holidays and festivals for recreation, sightseeing, and visiting temples. Ordinary tourists still come here for shopping, visiting Mount Ba, the Holy Temple, and other spiritual sites. Furthermore, after the pandemic, Mount Ba has received investment, resulting in many new, unique, and attractive products that appeal to Cambodian tourists who have money and are willing to spend more.

"Cambodian tourists come to Vietnam from several sources. Firstly, there are tourists from border provinces who travel to Tay Ninh for tourism and recreation during festivals and weekends. Secondly, there are wealthy tourists from major cities and provinces like Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, and Siem Reap... these are families with money who combine tourism with medical treatment."

Thirdly, there's the group of tourists who travel for extended periods. They go to Tay Ninh, then move down to the Mekong Delta, then take a ferry to Phu Quoc before returning to their country. The number of wealthy Cambodian tourists is increasing, not only coming here for medical treatment but also combining it with sightseeing and shopping...", Mr. Thinh analyzed.

To accommodate this influx of tourists, local high-end accommodations and restaurants are also investing in and renovating their facilities to be able to serve large groups of visitors.

To attract more tourists from this country, tourism companies have proposed that provinces bordering Cambodia facilitate easier entry into Vietnam for Cambodian tourists. Currently, the traditional method takes nearly two hours for a 45-seat passenger bus to complete immigration procedures, including baggage checks and passenger count verification. Therefore, efforts are needed to streamline the entry of Cambodian tourists through land border crossings.

In addition, another popular product is caravan tours, cross-border driving trips that are also attracting tourists from both countries.

Meanwhile, Mr. Truong Duc Hai argues that currently, medical tours lasting 3-4 days, or even longer, are mainly organized and coordinated by some Cambodians living in Ho Chi Minh City, lacking a professional product line, whereas medical tourism products need to be organized more professionally.

"We need to connect with hospitals and provide services specifically for this group of patients. Unfortunately, hospitals haven't paid much attention to this, partly because many reputable hospitals are currently overloaded," said Mr. Pham Ngoc Ha.

Strengthening tourism promotion and linkages with Cambodia.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Tay Ninh province, the number of tourists entering Tay Ninh from Cambodia for tourism purposes from 2018 to the present, although sharply reduced from 2020-2022 due to the pandemic, still reached approximately 2.1 million people. In the first quarter of 2023, there were signs of renewed growth.

The department stated that, recognizing the potential, since mid-2022, it has organized a program to promote and expand the tourism market of Tay Ninh with provinces and cities with developed tourism in Cambodia.

Representatives from businesses in both countries pledged to coordinate efforts in promoting potential, cooperating in or supporting the organization of activities to promote the tourism markets of both countries. They will also collaborate on researching solutions to stimulate tourism demand, and developing tourism products and routes.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao