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A report from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) said that the country received 2.95 million international tourists in the first 11 months of 2022. The total figure showed a 21.10 times increase against last year's, but is down 81.90 percent compared to the number of 18 million recorded in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. With these results, the country may fail to reach its plan of welcoming five million international visitors this year.
There have been some reasons explained by local authorities for the situation including the Russia-Ukraine war, China's tight Covid-19 prevention policy, and the rising inflation in Europe and the US which have affected the number of tourists coming from these markets.
However, a tourism expert, Nguyen Thai Minh, said that those explanations were not enough.
"Some neighbouring countries including Thailand and Malaysia have still received a much higher number of foreign tourists this year," Minh said. "Thailand has so far welcomed 7.56 million international visitors and they targeted at receiving 10 million this year. Malaysia reopened to foreign tourists on April 1 and welcomed 4.50 million by the end of August, and they are reaching their target of serving 9.20 million international visitors this year. So there may be other reasons [to blame] for Vietnam's failure to attract international visitors."
Talking about the issue, CEO of Image Travel & Events, Nguyen Ngoc Toan, noted that Vietnam’s visa policy should be more open in order to lure international tourists.
"The current 15-day visa exemption for visitors from European countries has yet to satisfy them, as they normally need at least 18–20 days to visit the main tourist attractions in Vietnam," Toan said. "With just 15 days, we face difficulties to design proper tours for tourists from those markets."
Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said that the list of 25 countries getting visa exemption to Vietnam is not competitive compared to that of other countries in the region. Singapore is offering visa exemption to visitors from 157 countries, Malaysia 155 countries, and Thailand 64 countries.
The official urged the government to expand the list of countries and territories qualified for visa exemption and e-visa. She proposed extending visa-free stay from the current 15 to 30 days to attract more tourists.
Nguyen Thien Phuc, Director of Product Research & Development at Vidotour Indochina Travel, said that, apart from the visa policy, a national communication strategy and contingent of trained personnel are needed for the domestic tourism sector.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism has coordinated with associations, businesses, and airlines to outline promotional plans to quickly ramp up international tourism, focusing on the Southeast Asian, Northeast Asian, and European markets.
Vietnam recently joined JATA Tourism Expo, a leading regional travel fair in Japan in September, as well as the World Travel Market in the UK last month. The country has also organised some festivals and programmes promoting local tourism in major markets like the Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China), Europe, North America, and Australia, along with an array of events at home.
