Thailand is one of the markets that recorded growth in the number of Vietnamese tourists in the first months of 2024 - Photo: LINH NGUYEN
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization in Vietnam (JNTO), the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan in February 2024 was the highest ever with more than 60,000 arrivals. The previous highest month was February 2023 with 55,800 arrivals. In the first two months of the year, Vietnamese visitors to Japan reached more than 107,000 arrivals, an increase of 40% over the same period in 2019.
Along with that, other markets such as China, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, etc. also recorded good growth in Vietnamese tourists. Of which, China is the most favorite market for Vietnamese tourists in 2024.
Tourists learn about international tours at the VITM 2024 International Tourism Fair - Photo: NGUYEN HIEN
Vietnamese international tourists increase due to airfare prices
Many travel companies said the number of customers booking tours to China has skyrocketed, with many routes increasing by 100% compared to the same period in 2023.
Talking to Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Ho Xuan Phuc - General Director of Hanotour Travel Company - informed that not only on the occasion of April 30, the number of bookings for some tours and routes to China such as: Zhangjiajie - Phoenix Ancient Town, Beijing - Shanghai - Hangzhou... are fully booked until the end of June.
"The price of a tour to China is not too cheap compared to domestic tours. The price of a 6-day, 5-night tour to famous destinations in this market ranges from 14-19 million VND/person.
However, Vietnamese tourists prefer international tours over domestic tours that are a few million VND cheaper. As for domestic tourism products, people can take the initiative to go, so they will wait for the right time for a reasonable price," Mr. Phuc shared.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ngoc An - Deputy General Director of Vietluxtour Joint Stock Company, airfares account for 50-60% of the package tour price. Therefore, when domestic airfares increase, especially during the peak summer tourist season, the price of package tours increases accordingly, making domestic tourism products less attractive.
For example, the price difference between package tours to Phu Quoc and Thailand is not much, even some tours to Thailand are only as expensive as round-trip airfare for some domestic routes such as Hanoi - Phu Quoc, Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi - Nha Trang.
Is domestic tourism at a disadvantage?
The international tourism market is growing rapidly, but that does not mean domestic tourism is not developing. Mr. Nguyen Cong Hoan - CEO of Flamingo Redtours - said that domestic tourism is only marginalized when viewed from the perspective of travel agencies.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people's travel trends have changed a lot. In addition, the high airfare only adjusts the demand of domestic tourists.
Regional tourism is expected to be a trend during holidays and peak tourist seasons in 2024. Instead of going to faraway destinations that require air travel, tourists will go to nearby destinations, easily and proactively replacing them with means of transport such as cars, motorbikes, and trains. Although the trips are short and short, in return, tourists will travel more often.
Domestic tours are less attractive than international tours, posing a problem for travel businesses to innovate in products and ways to approach customers.
"The domestic package tour market has decreased sharply, but the demand for individual services not included in the tour has increased. Therefore, we focus on products that enhance the experience for tourists and change the product structure.
Instead of building many package tour products, we provide additional individual tourism products in the form of combos and vouchers to serve the self-travel needs of tourists," said Mr. Phuc.
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