Changing the structure of the international tourist market to Quang Nam - Part 2: Shift towards Asian and Northeast Asian tourists

Northeast Asian tourists visit Hoi An Ancient Town. Photo: QUOC TUAN

The Europe-Asia balance "reversed"

As of 2015, Quang Nam's main international tourist markets were still Western Europe - North America and Australia. In particular, from 2012 - 2013 onwards, the proportion of European - American - Australian tourists regularly accounted for more than 70% of the total number of international tourists to Quang Nam, so they were positioned as the traditional market of Quang Nam tourism. In those years, Japan was the only Asian market in the top 10 largest international tourist markets of Quang Nam.

However, this balance has changed dramatically, in which the Korean market has made a leap forward in just a few years. From being a potential market with a few thousand visitors to Quang Nam in 2010, it has emerged as a key market, maintaining its leading position in the international tourist market to Quang Nam from 2017 to present.

In 2019, South Korea alone accounted for more than 30% of the total number of international visitors to Quang Nam, far surpassing the remaining markets. Even with My Son Sanctuary - a pure cultural and historical tourism destination, the structure of Asian visitors in 2024 will account for 45%, surpassing European visitors (about 35%).

The number of visitors from Asian markets now accounts for about 45% of the total international visitors to My Son Sanctuary. Photo: QUOC TUAN

Another Asian market that is also growing very strongly is Taiwan (China) when in 2024 this market even surpassed Korea to become the international market with the highest number of guests staying in Hoi An.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in 2024, 5/10 of the most international tourist markets staying in Quang Nam will be in Asia. Of which, the two markets of Korean and Taiwanese tourists are leading, accounting for nearly 34% of the total number of international tourists staying in Quang Nam.

Bay Mau Coconut Forest (Cam Thanh, Hoi An) can be considered a destination that clearly reflects the shift in the structure of international visitors in Quang Nam.

According to statistics from the People's Committee of Cam Thanh commune, there will be only about 100 thousand visitors (about 12%) from Western markets out of more than 850 thousand international visitors visiting Bay Mau coconut forest in 2024. The remaining more than 85% of visitors come from Asian markets, of which Korea accounts for 55%, almost overwhelming the remaining markets. Some other important Asian visitor markets of this destination are Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, etc.

Notably, another emerging market in Asia, India, also accounts for 9% of total visitors to Bay Mau Coconut Forest. A recent statistic shows that for every 2 Indian visitors to Vietnam, 1 visits Da Nang.

With the huge potential of the "billion-people" market, plus the promotion of direct flights and policies to attract this market of Quang Nam - Da Nang, it is forecasted that the number of Indian tourists to Hoi An in particular and Quang Nam - Da Nang in general will increase rapidly in the coming years.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lanh - Vice Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee said that Hoi An has made efforts to balance the proportion of international tourist markets. In fact, the Western tourist market still accounts for about 50% of the proportion of international visitors staying in Hoi An.

The risk of "more harm than good"

In general, the strong growth of the Asian tourist market has significantly contributed to Quang Nam tourism upgrading the scale of the tourism industry (in 2024, welcoming more than 5.5 million international visitors, 5 times higher than in 2010); increasing social income from tourism (in 2024, reaching more than 21.6 trillion VND); in addition, a number of destinations targeting the Northeast Asian market have also been formed and developed, contributing to promoting the Quang Nam tourism brand, most notably Hoiana.

Hoi An Ancient Town is always crowded at night, making it difficult for tourists to enjoy the beauty of this heritage. Photo: QUOC TUAN

However, at the same time the proportion of international visitors to Quang Nam shifted between markets, many problems began to arise, putting pressure on the tourism industry.

Every evening, when entering Hoi An Ancient Town, it is easy to feel the suffocation of this destination when there are always thousands of tourists crowded in a small area, estimated to be up to more than 10 thousand visitors/day on some peak days.

The pressure on the heritage environment is enormous, it is estimated that more than 30% of the waste generated each day (about 100 tons) in Hoi An comes from tourist waste.

Mr. Nguyen Van Son - Chairman of Hoi An City People's Committee acknowledged that the situation of Hoi An ancient town being crowded and full of tourists started around 2015 when some Asian tourist markets started to grow rapidly and the pressure on this destination became greater and greater.

“For a long time, this has been a favorite destination for European tourists, but recently many tourists have been disappointed because when they go to the old town at night, they only see shadows of people, and there is no way to enjoy the peaceful, quiet beauty of this heritage anymore. If there is no change soon, Hoi An is at risk of becoming a cheap satellite destination,” said Mr. Son.

Regarding the destination of Bay Mau coconut forest, there was a period before the COVID-19 pandemic when many European tourists avoided this destination because the space was too crowded, leading to accommodation facilities in neighboring areas also being affected due to the decrease in Western tourists.

According to a local travel agency, European tourists tend to prefer quietness when visiting coconut forests, while Asian tourists generally prefer a lively, bustling atmosphere, so conflicts are inevitable if they are served in the same space. Not only at Bay Mau coconut forest, in other destinations, while Asian tourists prefer to use electric cars and cyclos, European tourists prefer to experience cycling or walking.

The number of tourists from Asian markets visiting Hoi An has grown strongly, but most of them do not stay in the locality but only visit and shop. Photo: QT

Also from the period of about 2017 - 2018, a type of accommodation and also a unique tourism product in Hoi An, homestay, gradually declined, changing its form compared to the nature of this type.

The fact that the number of accommodation establishments in Hoi An has increased too rapidly (in 2005, there were 73 establishments in Hoi An, in 2010, it only increased to 86 establishments, but in 2024, this number has reached 864 establishments) is also a reason why the homestay type is facing fierce competition, having to radically reduce prices (sometimes down to less than 200,000 VND/night) and no longer maintaining the same appeal as before 2010.

A homestay owner in Cam Chau ward confided: "At times, homestay room prices are the same as those of budget motels, so tourists cannot feel the true value of a homestay in Hoi An."

In 2024, the city government will allow a pilot homestay business (a house with rooms for tourists to rent) in Hoi An Ancient Town. This is a move that is expected to partly restore the type of tourist accommodation with Hoi An's identity, but people are not very interested because the benefits from other services are too different.

The number of Asian visitors to Hoi An is very large, but the number of accommodations is not as expected (room occupancy in 2024 will only reach nearly 47%, down more than 4% compared to 2023) while the number of accommodations is increasing.

There are no official statistics, but according to feedback from travel agencies, European - American - Australian tourists tend to stay longer (usually 3 - 4 days or more), while most Asian tourists stay shorter, even preferring a day tour to visit Hoi An - My Son and then return to Da Nang... This leads to the number of international visitors to Quang Nam being slightly higher, but the number of international visitors staying is less than 50% compared to Da Nang (in 2024, Da Nang will serve more than 4.1 million visitors).

Top 10 largest international accommodation markets in Quang Nam 2024:

South Korea: 386,669 views

Taiwan (China): 286,203 views

Australia: 149,553 views

English: 128,537 views

France: 101,058 views

USA: 95,463 views

Germany: 87,482 views

Malaysia: 65,623 visits

China: 53,874 views

India: 52,048 views

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Final Lesson: The Problem of Sustainable Destination

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/xoay-chuyen-co-cau-thi-truong-khach-quoc-te-den-quang-nam-bai-2-su-dich-chuyen-doi-voi-dong-khach-chau-a-dong-bac-a-3153402.html