Depth report

　　

According to Vietnamese sources, in the first 10 months of 2023, Vietnam received a total of nearly 10 million international tourists, far exceeding the full-year target set for 2023. On the other side of the "lively", Vietnamese driver Nguyen Quang Hyao said in an interview with Nine Pai News that there were many Chinese tourists to Da Nang earlier, but now it has almost "disappeared", and only two Chinese tourists were received in September.

So, what is the reality of tourism in Vietnam? In the context of the Vietnamese government's efforts to boost tourism, what are the new trends in Vietnam's tourism industry? What new experiences will Chinese tourists have when visiting Vietnam?

"Open the door to welcome Visitors"

In the long run, tourism generally occupies a relatively important position in the national economy of Southeast Asian countries, and it is also an important booster for the development of the service industry. Especially after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the recovery of tourism in Southeast Asia was better than that of the international economy, and the development of tourism gradually became the driving force and leading indicator of economic recovery in Southeast Asia.

In terms of Vietnam itself, before the epidemic, Vietnam's tourism industry received more than 18 million international tourists in 2019, a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, and tourism revenue accounted for 9.2% of the gross domestic product (GDP), which is one of the important economic sectors of the country. Since 2023, as an export-oriented economy, Vietnam has suffered an economic storm, and exports have declined for several months, falling into the longest consecutive decline in 14 years. Therefore, promoting the recovery of tourism and even playing the role of "leverage" to promote national economic development has become the top priority of Vietnam to boost the economy.

In terms of relevant policies, visa and entry policies have a direct impact on the exit choices of international travellers. In the past, Vietnam's relatively conservative visa system has made it less competitive at a time when Southeast Asian countries are competing for market share in tourism.

At the end of January 2023, the Vietnamese authorities submitted a draft policy to the National Assembly to attract international tourists, and on August 15, 2023 announced a major reform of the immigration system: from now on, citizens of all countries will be provided with electronic visas, valid for 90 days, which can be entered multiple times; The unilateral visa exemption period for citizens of Japan, South Korea and several European countries will be extended from 15 days to 45 days.

Extending the visa is just the beginning

During the period of the new visa policy from incubation to introduction and implementation, the Vietnamese government "goes all out to solve the problems of the tourism industry", enhances the "hard power" of the tourism market from the aspects of public security and infrastructure, and works with relevant departments, institutions and associations to create a tourism environment of "Vietnam - a safe, friendly, hospitable and warm destination".

Vietnamese provinces and cities are actively developing diversified highlights, expanding tourism resources such as sports, medical care and agriculture, and enhancing the "soft power" to attract tourists. These breakthroughs, with remarkable effectiveness, have not only promoted the recovery and development of Vietnam's tourism industry, but also become a highlight of Vietnam's economic and social recovery. As of October 2023, Vietnam's tourism industry received more than 1 million international tourists for four consecutive months in 2023, and tourism revenue reached 582.6 trillion VND (about 179.497 billion yuan). Among them, the largest source markets are South Korea, China, the United States, Taiwan and Japan, and the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Russia are the four major source markets of European countries, similar to the distribution of inbound tourism markets in Vietnam before the epidemic.

The more open policy has encouraged the return of international tourists, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has subsequently raised the target of receiving international tourists to 12 million in 2023.

China-vietnam cooperation is a model for cross-border tourism

Generally speaking, economy is an important reason for the change of countries' entry policies, followed by political and diplomatic factors. At the National Conference on the Rapid and Sustainable Development of Vietnam's tourism Industry, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung made the following proposals on the follow-up visa and entry policy: short-term visa measures for tourists from some potential large-scale markets such as China and India to stimulate tourism demand; Unilateral expansion of visa waivers for citizens of countries with a higher level of development than Vietnam, such as Australia, Canada, the United States and other countries of the European Union.

From this, it can be seen that Vietnam is now vigorously attracting tourists with high paying ability and long stay, and fully exploring the direction of traditional and key tourism markets. As a close economic and trade partner of Vietnam, China is still one of the international tourist source markets that Vietnam focuses on, and tourism cooperation is an important area of China-Vietnam cooperation. China officially opened its international tourism market on January 8, and one day later, the Vietnam Tourism Administration and the Vietnam Tourism Association held a meeting on "Measures to attract Chinese tourists to Vietnam".

Looking back to 2023, Vietnam's tourism industry has introduced a series of mechanisms and policies to improve the quality and level of tourism services. In the process of building tourism into a pillar industry of Vietnam, Vietnam is not only looking at the world, but also based on the neighborhood, and China, once the largest source country of tourists, will continue to be its attention to the market. With the gradual recovery of China's outbound tourism market and the continuous "loading" of Vietnam's best tourism season (from September to April each year), the comprehensive "test" of the upgrade and development of Vietnam's tourism industry by international tourists has just begun.