Vietnam: More tourists, but little spending
Vietnam attracted around 6,85 million tourists in 2012, a growth of 13.9 per cent, according to statistics by the World Tourism Organisation.
However, the country registered tourism receipts of just $6.63 billion, a meagre 2 per cent growth and lower than most other ASEAN countries.
In comparison, Thailand attracted 22.3 million tourists and Singapore 14.4 million, earning $30.1 billion and $19.3 billion, respectively.
This means, the average spending of tourists in Thailand was around $1,350 and in Singapore $1,340, while in Vietnam it was $968.
However, the country with the highest number of visitors, Malaysia, which received 25 million tourists and $20.3 billion in receipts, was lower at an average spending per stay of $812, which experts attribute to the fact that Malaysia counts all day visitors and commuters from Singapore into this figure.
Vietnam’s relative weakness with regards to tourism spending is not that it is such a cheap destination for holidaymakers and upmarket hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues often boast a hefty price tag.
Dr. Pham Trung Luong, Deputy Director of Vietnam’s Institute of Tourism Research and Development, said that Vietnam’s tourism industry was born from the ’60s, but since then Vietnam has not yet built a national tourism brand. Tourism promotion still does not work because Vietnam does the traditional way, not the right direction. If the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism stops promotion activities, international visitors will keep going to Vietnam because they come here primarily through the recommendation of relatives and friends.
“To take the Vietnam tourism brand to the regional and international levels, it is not simply to be done immediately. This requires time and satisfactory investment. But right from this moment, if we do not start from particular tasks, it would hardly to have a national tourism brand as desired,” Luong said.
To solve this problem, the General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourims, Nguyen Van Tuan, said that the strategic task of the agency in the current period is building the brand for Vietnam’s tourism.
Vietnam attracted around 6,85 million tourists in 2012, a growth of 13.9 per cent, according to statistics by the World Tourism Organisation. However, the country registered tourism receipts of just $6.63 billion, a meagre 2 per cent growth and lower than most other ASEAN countries. In comparison, Thailand attracted 22.3 million tourists and Singapore 14.4 million, earning $30.1 billion and $19.3 billion, respectively. This means, the average spending of tourists in Thailand was around $1,350 and in Singapore $1,340, while in Vietnam it was $968. However, the country with the highest number of visitors, Malaysia, which received 25 million tourists...
Vietnam attracted around 6,85 million tourists in 2012, a growth of 13.9 per cent, according to statistics by the World Tourism Organisation.
However, the country registered tourism receipts of just $6.63 billion, a meagre 2 per cent growth and lower than most other ASEAN countries.
In comparison, Thailand attracted 22.3 million tourists and Singapore 14.4 million, earning $30.1 billion and $19.3 billion, respectively.
This means, the average spending of tourists in Thailand was around $1,350 and in Singapore $1,340, while in Vietnam it was $968.
However, the country with the highest number of visitors, Malaysia, which received 25 million tourists and $20.3 billion in receipts, was lower at an average spending per stay of $812, which experts attribute to the fact that Malaysia counts all day visitors and commuters from Singapore into this figure.
Vietnam’s relative weakness with regards to tourism spending is not that it is such a cheap destination for holidaymakers and upmarket hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues often boast a hefty price tag.
Dr. Pham Trung Luong, Deputy Director of Vietnam’s Institute of Tourism Research and Development, said that Vietnam’s tourism industry was born from the ’60s, but since then Vietnam has not yet built a national tourism brand. Tourism promotion still does not work because Vietnam does the traditional way, not the right direction. If the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism stops promotion activities, international visitors will keep going to Vietnam because they come here primarily through the recommendation of relatives and friends.
“To take the Vietnam tourism brand to the regional and international levels, it is not simply to be done immediately. This requires time and satisfactory investment. But right from this moment, if we do not start from particular tasks, it would hardly to have a national tourism brand as desired,” Luong said.
To solve this problem, the General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourims, Nguyen Van Tuan, said that the strategic task of the agency in the current period is building the brand for Vietnam’s tourism.
