Vietnam's tourism industry strives to make a comeback after a period of "hibernation".

Rising from negative numbers

March 15, 2023 marked a significant milestone for Vietnamese tourism, signifying its recovery after a long period of inactivity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the socio-economic report of the General Statistics Office, in the first quarter of 2023, the number of international visitors to Vietnam was estimated at nearly 2.7 million.

March marked the return of tourists from China, as on March 15th, Vietnam officially welcomed the first Chinese tour groups after China reopened international group tourism to Vietnam.

Revenue from accommodation and food services in the first quarter of 2023 is estimated at VND 161.1 trillion, an increase of 28.4% compared to the same period last year. Revenue from travel and tourism in the first quarter of 2023 is estimated at VND 6.8 trillion, 2.2 times higher than the same period last year, due to vibrant cultural and tourism activities in many localities during the first months of the year, whereas these activities were not held in the same period last year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As can be seen, the recovery of Vietnam's tourism industry has shown quite positive changes after two years of stagnation due to the impact of the pandemic.

In addition, Vietnam still has many highly-rated destinations on various rankings. Receiving 16 tourism awards at the 2022 World Tourism Awards - Asia and Oceania region further affirmed the brand and position of Vietnamese tourism...

Ninh Binh has just become the only representative from Vietnam in the top 10 most tourist-friendly destinations in the world, as voted by hundreds of thousands of travelers who have had real-life experiences at Booking.com's Traveller Review Awards 2023.

"Travel + Leisure," a renowned American travel magazine, has just published a list of 21 "life-changing" journeys that travelers should experience at least once." Among them, the Southeast Asia journey introduces Vietnam and Thailand as destinations "unmissable for any traveler, especially foodies and lovers of street food."

According to Cao Anh Tuan, Business Director of Paradise Vietnam Group, after a year of Vietnam's tourism fully reopening, Paradise Vietnam has recorded growth in the number of international tourists. Paradise Vietnam's cruise ships and hotels are always fully booked, especially during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year). While the number of international tourists has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels, there has been a significant shift in the structure of tourists by nationality and region.

Competition is becoming increasingly fierce…

Looking back at 2022, Vietnam's target of 5 million tourists was not achieved, with only 3.66 million visitors received, completing 73% of the planned target. Although Vietnam was one of the first countries to reopen to international tourists after the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to other countries in the region, our numbers are still quite modest.

According to the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB)'s COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Index chart, Vietnam's tourism recovery index in 2022 was 18.1%, ranking last in the region's international tourism recovery rankings. In comparison, countries with the highest indices were Singapore (30.9%), Malaysia (27.5%), and Thailand (22%).

According to a report by Vietravel Tourism Company, from mid-March 2022 to the present, the number of foreign tourists visiting Vietnam through the company has only reached 25% compared to 2019. This figure is still far below the target of recovering to around 70%.

Mr. Le Cong Nang, General Director of Wondertour Travel Company, stated that although Vietnam's tourism industry reopened early in 2022, the number of international visitors did not meet expectations, and even lagged behind in Southeast Asia, placing it among the slowest recovering countries in terms of international tourists. This is extremely regrettable. Therefore, to achieve the goal of increasing the number of international visitors to Vietnam in 2023, the tourism industry needs a synchronized and decisive effort based on coordination and support between management agencies, localities, and travel and tourism businesses.

In 2023, Vietnam's tourism industry aimed to welcome and serve 8 million international visitors. This is a modest number compared to the figure achieved in 2019, but it is a challenging goal given the volatile international tourism market following the pandemic.

Visa as a lifeline – Still the same old story

In the three years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average number of international tourists visiting Vietnam was only one-fifth that of domestic tourists, yet they contributed over 55% of the total tourism revenue. In 2019, revenue from international tourists accounted for $18.3 billion out of the total $32.8 billion generated by the entire industry. Therefore, attracting international tourists remains a crucial factor in truly reviving Vietnam's tourism industry.

According to experts, there are still many reasons why the number of international tourists visiting Vietnam is not high. Among them, one of the issues frequently mentioned by businesses and industry experts is the visa problem.

According to the UNWTO and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), facilitating visa issuance has the potential to increase international tourist arrivals by 5-25% annually. A study by the Tourism Advisory Council on the impact of visa exemptions for five Western European countries showed that the average number of visitors from these countries to Vietnam increased by nearly 20%. This demonstrates that changes in visa policies towards greater flexibility and openness are always key to attracting international tourists and creating spectacular breakthroughs for the tourism industry.

Many countries are competing to attract international tourists through visa-free policies. While Vietnam only grants visa exemptions to 24 countries through unilateral and bilateral agreements, Malaysia and Singapore grant exemptions to 162 countries, the Philippines to 157 countries, and Thailand to 64 countries...

In addition, most of these countries issue and allow entry using e-visas with a stay duration of up to 6 months and multiple entries.

Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, Head of the Secretariat of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), suggested that for tourists from visa-exempt countries, the visa exemption period should be extended to 30 days instead of the current 15 days. This would not only attract tourists but also appeal to business travelers and investors who wish to combine work and tourism. In addition, visa exemptions should be granted to multiple-entry visitors instead of single-entry visitors; the exemption period should be extended from the current 3 years to 5 years to give travel agencies and tourism businesses more time to develop attractive products. Furthermore, visa exemptions should be implemented for short-term tourists such as MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) and golf tourists.

Dr. Nuno F. Ribeiro, Senior Associate Dean of the Tourism and Hospitality Management Department at RMIT University Vietnam, suggests that Vietnam should proactively implement short-term, medium-term, and long-term solutions to create a strong leverage to attract international tourists and ensure the sustainable development of tourism.

In the short term, Vietnam needs to reduce and simplify administrative procedures, expand e-visas to all countries, consider increasing the number of visa-exempt countries, and extend the length of stay for key markets. At the same time, it should promote cultural and language programs to bridge the gap between tourists and local people, and invest heavily in promotion at international tourism fairs to attract key markets.

In the long term, Mr. Nuno F. Ribeiro emphasized that Vietnam should invest heavily in public transportation, especially environmentally friendly modes of transport, and enhance connectivity between different modes of transport; invest heavily in advanced training at the secondary, university, and postgraduate levels; develop specific areas for tourism and protect other areas from overtourism. While neighboring countries are witnessing spectacular recovery, even surpassing pre-pandemic levels, Vietnam needs a concrete and feasible action plan to address bottlenecks, maximize the country's tourism advantages and potential, and strongly attract international tourists.

Dr. Luong Hoai Nam, a member of the Tourism Advisory Council, said that opening up visa policies while simultaneously promoting tourism would boost economic development, help tourism businesses, and especially bring more foreign currency into the country. Rescuing international tourism not only saves tourism businesses, airlines, and primary and secondary resort real estate investors, but also creates more sales opportunities and increases income for poor street vendors and those struggling with low visitor numbers in tourist cities.

Assessing the prospects for the recovery of international tourists, Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh believes that, with the growth rate of international tourists in the first three months of the year, Vietnam's tourism industry can confidently surpass 8 million visitors in 2023, and even reach 10-12 million international visitors.

"This is the time for the tourism industry to restructure its customer base. We believe the tourism industry will return to high growth rates and contribute not only 9.25% to the national GDP as in 2019, but even more in the following years," Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh affirmed.

An Ngoc