A tourism year in 2022: Why did Vietnam "start first but finish last" in its goal of attracting international tourists?

From "top performers" in the race to tourism recovery to "bottom of the pack" for failing to meet targets.

According to Google data, international searches for tourist accommodations in Vietnam in August 2022 increased nearly sevenfold compared to the beginning of March 2022 and by over 1,200% compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, searches for international flights to Vietnam increased more than threefold.

After reopening to tourism on March 15, 2022, Vietnam was the only country among the 21 APEC economies that did not impose any travel restrictions, did not require COVID-19 vaccination certificates, did not require COVID-19 testing, did not require quarantine, and did not require health declarations.

Immediately afterwards, the 31st SEA Games was seen as a golden opportunity for the tourism industry after a long period of closure due to the pandemic. And in the past year, Vietnamese tourism has excellently won 16 top-tier awards presented by the "Oscars of tourism" - the World Travel Awards.

In 2022, Vietnam consistently ranked among the world's fastest-growing destinations, with growth rates ranging from 50-75% compared to the same period during the pandemic. Domestic tourists were estimated at 101.3 million (more than 1.5 times the target of 60 million), far exceeding the 85 million domestic tourists in 2019.

Given the situation where China – the main market accounting for over 32% of tourists entering Vietnam – remains closed, and the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine is also affecting tourist flows from Europe, Vietnam still has significant advantages to achieve its target of 5 million foreign tourists.

In 2019, Vietnam's tourism industry welcomed over 18 million international visitors, ranking 10th among countries with the highest number of visitors in Asia and 4th in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the target of 5 million international visitors in 2022 is not at all beyond the reach of Vietnam's tourism industry.

However, according to estimates by the National Tourism Advisory Council, Vietnam will only be able to welcome approximately 3.5 million foreign tourists in 2022, reaching only 66% of the target. Meanwhile, many Southeast Asian countries have already met their 2022 international tourist quotas.

The Philippines began opening its doors to international tourists in February of this year and reached its target by the end of October. Indonesia and Cambodia also achieved their international visitor numbers after nine months of reopening. Malaysia, which initially aimed for only 2 million international visitors, quickly reached that target in June and successfully progressed to 4.5 million in September, aiming for 9.2 million international visitors for the whole year. And on December 10th, Thailand, despite opening later than Vietnam, simultaneously held events to mark reaching 10 million international visitors in 2022.

According to experts, the reasons why Vietnam's tourism industry, once a "top performer," has fallen to the bottom of the Southeast Asian International Tourism Recovery Index rankings after COVID-19, besides objective factors, are subjective issues and a lack of timely adaptation.

Foreign tourists learn about Vietnam but end up making a purchase in Thailand.

At the roundtable conference themed "Economic and Business Recovery 2023: Solutions for Breakthroughs from the Aviation and Tourism Service Pillars," held on the afternoon of December 16th, the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) pointed out the obstacles preventing Vietnam's tourism industry from fully utilizing its advantages.

• Inconvenient visa policy

After COVID-19, travelers needed sponsorship from companies or referrals from visa service agents, incurring very high fees ranging from $200 to $500, while the official visa fee was only $25.

Compared to Thailand, a country with many similarities to Vietnam, Thailand grants visa-free entry to citizens of 65 countries, while Vietnam only grants it to 24 countries and territories. Thailand allows tourists to stay for 30 to 45 days, or even 90 days, with multiple entries and exits, while Vietnam mostly only allows visitors to stay for 15 days and enter only once. This means that to travel to Vietnam for a month, tourists would have to go to another country to apply for a second visa.

According to TAB, Vietnam's e-visa is also inconvenient; tourists still have to apply for prior approval, unlike some other countries where you can simply apply for a visa directly at the border. Despite announcing its opening to international tourists, the door to Vietnam is not as wide open as advertised.

• Knowing the difficulties beforehand but having no way to solve them.

By mid-August, Thailand had only received about 3.7 million international tourists, just one-third of its target. They then quickly implemented measures to address this, coordinating with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports and the Tourism Authority, through a "Golden Visa" strategy allowing visitors 45 days of multiple entry and exit.

Despite the challenges in attracting international tourists, Thailand has found success with its "Golden Visa" strategy. According to analysis by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, international visitors who stay for longer periods are likely to spend 20-30% more than the current average.

Immediately after the 31st Sea Games, the research team at TAB realized that if Vietnam maintained its old recovery policy, the target of 5 million international tourists would be difficult to achieve. Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the secretariat of the National Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), stated: "We made recommendations and proposals, but unfortunately, they were not listened to. This is very different from other countries. Tourism agencies in countries like Thailand and Singapore, when they sense problems with the recovery path, immediately 'talk' to relevant agencies and implement adaptive policies. We are still following the old approach, while if there had been changes in promotion or tourist reception policies from around August, perhaps we would have achieved different results now."

• Failing to keep up with trends.

Tourist behavior has changed compared to before Covid-19. Therefore, marketing and promotion efforts, tourism product development, and attractive messaging need to be redesigned from scratch. Roadshows introducing Vietnamese tourism in key markets and alternative markets are largely absent. Most promotional activities targeting new markets such as India and the Middle East originate from travel agencies and airlines.

Is the target of 8 million international tourists in 2023 reasonable or overly cautious?

Countries in the region such as Thailand and Singapore have set targets to double their growth compared to 2022. According to Mr. Hoang Nhan Chinh's assessment, Vietnam is setting a figure that is "easy to achieve".

"The target of welcoming 10 million international tourists in 2023 is entirely achievable; it's just a matter of what issues we need to address to reach that number. We need a clear plan, from product development and marketing to policies to resolve problems. We need to identify which sectors need to get involved and how the aviation industry should get ahead. We need to define roles, have a commander-in-chief, someone to direct and assign responsibilities to each party. Currently, that role is unclear," he shared.

However, a representative from a travel company also stated that 8 million international tourists is a safe and necessary target, especially given the continued high global inflation. Many economists are more pessimistic and believe that a global economic recession could occur in 2023. Currently, Vietnamese tourism is still seasonal, significantly affecting the quality and reputation of many businesses due to deteriorating infrastructure, unstable staff, and many places hesitant to recruit enough personnel for fear of insufficient funds to cover salaries after a long period of depleted reserve capital.

Yen Nhi