The rising value of the US dollar and euro, along with escalating airfares and hotel prices, has caused Vietnamese people to reduce their demand for traveling to Europe this summer.
The phenomenon of "unsold tours" is happening with travel companies specializing in the European-American market. According to these companies, the outbound tourism market (Vietnamese tourists going abroad) has decreased sharply compared to two years ago. The number of tourists going to Europe this year has decreased compared to last year, despite the Euro in Germany and the upcoming Olympics in Paris (from July 26 to August 11). Many travel companies said that selling tours to Europe this year is more difficult due to abundant supply but low demand.
European tours are increasingly deserted.
In fact, in the period of 2022-2023, many travel companies in Vietnam have achieved success in the European market. In addition to sightseeing, many Vietnamese tourists have also visited relatives and conducted business in Europe in the past two years. Currently, applying for a European visa on your own from Vietnam is still quite difficult, so many customers choose to buy tours to ensure visa approval.
Building on last year’s success, many tour operators expanded into the market, leading to a 20% increase in supply. However, this year’s arrivals are down by as much as 30% at many operators. One reason for this is that those who travelled to Europe in the two years prior to this year may not be travelling again.
Companies said that high tour prices are one of the reasons why the European tourism market has become gloomy this year. Economic recession, inflation, sharp increases in exchange rates of the US dollar, euro, and pound, along with increases in prices of services such as air tickets and hotels by 15-20% compared to last year, have contributed to the difficult situation. The Euro 2024 and Olympic events have attracted a large number of tourists, leading to service overload, difficulties in booking rooms and accompanying services. Visa approval regulations of countries have also changed a lot, although not much, but still have a certain impact on the European tourism market.
Economic recession, inflation, sudden increase in exchange rates of USD, Euro, and Pound, and increased prices of services such as flights and hotels are the reasons why European tours are "unpopular".
To adapt, many travel companies that previously specialized in European tours have expanded to other markets or combined with 3-4 units to sell European group tours instead of organizing them themselves like last year. According to travel companies' predictions, from now until the end of the year, European tours will hardly achieve the same boom as last year.
However, European tours are still one of the traditional choices of high-end Vietnamese customers thanks to destinations with long histories, unique cultures, famous cuisine and beautiful natural landscapes along with high quality services. Traditional tours such as the 9-10 day journey through Italy - Switzerland - France - Luxembourg - Belgium - Germany are still the most popular with Vietnamese customers, with prices ranging from 75 to 90 million VND.
