Money is only secondary when Vietnamese people travel to Antarctica and the Arctic.

"How is your health? Do you have any underlying diseases?", that is the first question of Mr. Hoang Phung Hieu - Director of Vietglobal Travel Company, every time he consults tourists on long-distance, adventurous tours.

Tours to markets far from Vietnam, adventure experiences have "huge" costs. Typically, tours to see migration animals in Africa cost from 300 million VND/person, tours to the South Pole and the North Pole range from 400 million VND to more than 5 billion VND/person...

According to travel businesses, health, finance, time and passion are the four factors that clearly depict the customer portrait for this niche tour market.

Meanwhile, ensuring the safety of tourists is the top priority when a company organizes an adventure tour. At the same time, tour operators must also meet the requirements of unique tours, professional service and good service quality, suitable for Vietnamese tourists.

Money is not the top priority

Mr. Hieu clearly remembers that in December 2022, he met Ms. Phung Thuc (67 years old), a woman with a petite figure. To date, she is the oldest person in Vietnam to contact him to book a tour to Antarctica. To complete this journey, she spent a long time training her body and had a health certificate from a doctor.

"At first, I was worried that she would not be able to maintain her health to join the group. Ms. Thuc had a trip to the North Pole before, I personally observed every development of this tour before deciding to take her on the next trip. Luckily, everything went smoothly and she had an experience of a lifetime," Mr. Hieu shared with Tri Thuc - Znews.

Long, adventurous tours to the South Pole or the North Pole require good physical condition. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc Thien

According to Mr. Hieu, compared to traditional foreign tours, tours to distant markets and adventurous exploration are always more difficult, requiring travel agencies to spend 6-12 months on research.

For example, to prepare for a tour of Antarctica, the company first needs to find out information about the weather, geography, terrain, flora and fauna, and ice in Antarctica to see if it is suitable for tourists to visit. Next, he and his company members research visas, flight routes, choose expedition ship partners, prepare supplies, food, etc.

Airlines, hotels, and meals must be of high quality. At the same time, tour guides must have extensive experience in the market. The number of guests in the group is also different, not exceeding 20 people.

"I mostly lead groups on adventure tours that take long days," said Mr. Hieu.

Each Antarctic exploration tour has a limited number of people to meet the support, service and safety requirements. Photo: Hieu Hoang

Sharing the same view, Mr. Nguyen Hanh - General Director of Intrepid Vietnam Company, said that to operate adventure tours, ensuring safety is always the top priority. Before booking tours to distant markets such as South America, Tibet, the North Pole, etc., customers are required to have a health certificate from the hospital.

At the same time, the business also gives recommendations in advance about weather conditions and instructions on how to ensure health so that customers can anticipate situations such as accepting seasickness, long-term travel, etc. All information is presented specifically and coherently through a written commitment.

"We always have to send someone to experience the location in advance to survey and check the safety level. The company also has its own set of criteria for assessing the safety level for each tour and the health of customers. Each customer will be accompanied by 8 people on the adventure tour, to ensure safety. Doctors are always on duty to handle bad situations as quickly as possible, no more than 30 minutes," Mr. Hanh shared.

Mr. Hanh gave an example of a trekking tour in Tibet and Nepal. Before the trip, tourists will gradually get used to each level of altitude. Every day, tourists are guaranteed to climb for 2 hours, gradually increasing the height from 200 to 400m. After that, there are activities such as visiting villages and cultural exchanges. Anti-altitude sickness medicine, helicopter support, and local guides are always ready to support any situation.

Seasickness, altitude sickness, and heat shock (sudden increase or decrease in temperature) are three common problems when tourists participate in long-term tours. That is also the reason why tourists should register for adventure tours through reputable companies to have experience in handling situations promptly.

In addition, due to the remote, isolated and dangerous nature of the destination, the company will purchase travel insurance for each customer.

Growing demand

The global adventure tourism market is estimated to reach US$288 billion in 2021. According to Next Move Strategy Consulting, this figure is forecast to grow steadily in the following years, peaking at around US$2,824 billion in 2030.

Meanwhile, according to a survey by Grand View Research, the group of tourists aged 51-60 will dominate the adventure tourism market in 2021 due to their good financial potential and desire for rich experiences.

However, the 29-40 age group is growing rapidly with a compound annual growth rate of 16.6%. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), more than 85% of travelers in this age group are inspired to travel by social media (2019 data). Therefore, this customer group is expected to make up a significant portion of the adventure tourism industry.

Intrepid Travel serves about 1,000 visitors from around the world to Antarctica each year, according to Mr. Nguyen Hanh. This year, the number of visitors is expected to increase by 10%.

"Currently, most of our customers come from Canada and the US. In Asia, there are Thailand and China. There are not many customers in Vietnam, but there is an increasing trend. In the future, we also want to exploit Vietnamese people who like to experience and take risks," said Mr. Hanh.

More and more Vietnamese people want to go to Antarctica, to experience the harsh weather conditions as well as the unique flora and fauna. Photo: Pham Trong Thang

Similarly, Mr. Hieu shared that in 2019, he led the first Vietnamese tourist group to Antarctica, with only 12 people.

By 2023, after 2 years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of Vietnamese tourists visiting this remote land has increased to more than 30 people. This year, the company has received deposits from more than 10 people registering for tours to Antarctica and is expected to increase.

Mr. Hieu assessed that the group of customers who register for adventure tours often have already set foot on traditional foreign travel itineraries such as Asia and Europe, and no longer like resort and shopping tours, but want to experience and explore more. The market for unique tours is a "narrow door", but it is opening wider and wider.

"I still remember the image of a tourist couple in their 70s setting foot on the South Pole. Witnessing it with my own eyes made me believe and affirm that in the future there will be many Vietnamese tourists conquering every land on Earth," said Mr. Hieu.

According to Mr. Hanh, many studies show that people are becoming increasingly lonely in the hustle and bustle of work. They want to communicate and share more. Therefore, tourism products that are experiential, connected and engaging are becoming more and more attractive.

"Most of our customers love to explore and want to have a trip of a lifetime, something valuable or have new relationships with the same mindset. They often do not need to check-in and need privacy and information security," said Mr. Hanh./.

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