Japanese tourists to Vietnam are getting younger and younger.

Through Saigontourist Travel, NAPAS cards are introduced directly to Vietnamese tourists traveling to Korea and are advertised in Tuoi Tre newspaper - Photo: QUANG DINH

This is the affirmation concluded by experts and businesses at the workshop "Promoting Vietnam-Japan tourism: The attraction of unique tourism products" organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper in collaboration with Saigon Tourist Corporation (Saigontourist Group) on the afternoon of September 24.

The changing profile of Japanese tourists

Mr. Vo Viet Hoa, director of international tourism, Saigontourist Travel Services Company Limited, said that the company's statistics show that the trend of Japanese tourists traveling independently is becoming more and more popular. It is estimated that the number of individual customers booking services online accounts for 50% compared to Japanese customers booking through travel agency partners.

In addition to individual guests going to meetings, business meetings, etc., recently the number of Japanese guests traveling with family and friends has also increased. Even on the "Japanese streets" in Ho Chi Minh City, the image of young Japanese tourists is no longer strange. This is a group of guests that changes according to world tourism trends.

Japanese visitors to Vietnam are young, booking services from Japan, it is a habit to plan their own travel, book services and explore on their own. The products in Ho Chi Minh City are not too new, but individual customers in Japan have been around for a long time, now we have upgraded it to a specialized area serving Japanese customers.

"We have a long history of serving Japanese customers and are making adjustments to adapt to new tourism trends such as building a multilingual website, developing social media channels...", Mr. Hoa said.

Mr. Nguyen Bac Toan - Deputy General Director of Commercial Vietjet - said that in 2022, the number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam via this airline will reach about 1.3 million, increasing to 2.9 million in 2023 and over 3 million this year. Thus, Japanese visitors, including many purposes including tourism, are growing, of which at Vietjet it is 35-40%.

Vietjet is the airline with the most flights to Japan with 11 routes. To the capital Tokyo alone, this airline operates at two airports. In early October 2024, Vietjet may open more destinations besides the ones where it already flies charter flights.

According to Mr. Toan, the Japanese tourist market is affected by many reasons, including the economic downturn and the much weaker yen. In addition, the wave of Japanese people going abroad is also decreasing because of the new culture, the new generation does not travel like before.

"10 years ago, the Japanese market was considered a golden market, but that is no longer the case, but if there are direct flights, good prices, and safe destinations, Japanese people are still willing to travel," Mr. Toan said.

Businesses also believe that in attracting Japanese customers, service quality is the most important. And the Japanese customer market is not only competitive domestically but also with neighboring Thailand, Singapore... Therefore, the solution for service providers is to try to reduce costs and prices to satisfy Japanese partners, in the spirit of mutual development.

"The challenge for Vietnam's tourism industry is to increase product diversity and improve tourism experiences so that, in addition to attracting more international visitors from Japan, they will also have to spend money when coming to Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular," said a business.

Japanese tourists take souvenir photos in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: QUANG DINH

Need to start building new products

Mr. Hoang Manh Dang, General Director of Apex Vietnam Tourism Joint Stock Company, said that when identifying new tourist groups, new products are needed to exploit effectively, and the product segment that can be considered for investment and development is school tourism.

For example, the school tour package originating from the southwest of Japan, with 3,000 - 4,000 students going to Vietnam under the program each year, is currently suspended for many reasons, specifically depending on the flight route and airline. Therefore, according to Mr. Dang, if there are more direct flights, the opportunities for the product will be greater.

Ms. Yoko Sakoda - a Japanese freelance reporter - confirmed that since the pandemic, Japanese people have reduced their overseas travel, but Vietnam is still the 5th destination after the US, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Although Japanese people are more hesitant to travel abroad, Vietnam is still a popular tourist destination.

"But Japanese tourists still lack information about tourism and new products of Vietnam. Promotional information in Japanese is very important because it will help Japanese people feel more secure, comfortable and make travel decisions easier and faster. An advantage is that young people know more English, so promotional activities on social networks also need to be noted," said Ms. Yoko Sakoda.

Mr. Furudate Seiki, Deputy Consul General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City, also said that if there are suitable products, Japanese tourists will return to the Vietnamese market. "Statistics of Vietnam tourism also show that it is very difficult to compare the Japanese tourist market before and after the epidemic, because the psychology of Japanese tourists is no longer the same as before due to many economic factors.

"However, there are still some Japanese people who want to travel and the trend of going abroad still exists. Therefore, I hope this trend will choose Vietnam more in the future," Mr. Furudate Seiki shared.

Meanwhile, according to Mr. Hoang Manh Dang, Vietnam tourism promotion activities should not only focus on big cities, places where Vietnam is already well known.

"We should develop more information in Japanese to reach Japanese people in smaller cities, use more Internet tricks, and invite Japanese influencers to Vietnam to survey tours," said Mr. Dang.

Promoting Vietnamese tourism to Japanese tourists must be different.

Discussing the role of tourism promotion on social networks, Mr. Luu Hai Dang, representative of TikTok Vietnam, mentioned the Vietnamese tourism promotion project "Hello Vietnam".

Launched in 2019, TikTok has been operating locally, as each locality has its own characteristics. With 10% of tourists searching for travel information online, travel and accommodation agencies can research to reach potential customers on the social media market. And the TikTok channel in Japan alone has up to 20 million users, along with many influencers with extremely high followings.

Meanwhile, according to a representative of Saigontourist Group, in the coming time, it will organize networking events, multilateral and bilateral tourism promotion programs such as seminars, workshops, and famtrips to introduce Vietnamese tourism products and create opportunities for exchange and cooperation between businesses.

In addition, Saigontourist Group will also proactively participate in international tourism fairs in Japan to promote the image and tourism products of Vietnam.

Cooperation to promote cashless payment in Korea

On the afternoon of September 24, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), Saigontourist Travel Services Company Limited and Tuoi Tre newspaper signed a cooperation agreement on the NAPAS card spending promotion support program in Korea.

With the goal of promoting cashless payments, supporting tourism development between Vietnam and Korea, and cooperating to increase the use of NAPAS cards in spending activities in Korea through the BC Card network - one of the major payment systems in this country.

The initial program is for customers who are NAPAS cardholders issued through BIDV/Agribank, paying at payment acceptance units belonging to the BC Card network in Korea.

Accordingly, through Saigontourist Travel, Vietnamese tourists coming to Korea can easily use NAPAS cards to pay for shopping, dining and entertainment services, creating convenience and savings.

This cooperation not only benefits consumers but also strongly supports the national digital transformation process, especially in the field of non-cash payments according to the Prime Minister's decision.

With the support of Tuoi Tre newspaper, information about the cooperation program and related events will be widely communicated to the public through the newspaper's multimedia ecosystem. Thereby, helping to raise awareness about the benefits of cashless payments and encourage the use of NAPAS cards in the community.

Mr. Tran Xuan Toan - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre Newspaper - said that the connection between the two leading units in the field of payment and tourism in Vietnam also aims to promote tourism development between Vietnam and Korea, promote cashless payments in tourism services and promote cross-border payment sovereignty. After Korea, the program can be expanded to many other countries and even domestic tourists can experience this card service.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/du-khach-nhat-den-viet-nam-ngay-cang-tre-2024092508545733.htm