Travel and Tourism - Vietnam
Euromonitor International : Country Market Insight
April 2010
Travel And Tourism Vietnam
List of Contents and Tables
TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN VIETNAM..................................................................................... 1
Executive Summary..............................................................................................................................1
Still Faced With Inflation and Fuel Price Growth..............................................................................1
H1n1 Epidemic Affects the Tourism Industry All Over the World.......................................................1
More Policies To Attract Tourists......................................................................................................1
More Luxury Hotels Springing Up.....................................................................................................1
Vietnam Tourism Hopes To Recover in 2010.....................................................................................1
Key Trends and Developments...........................................................................................................1
Impact of the Global Recession..........................................................................................................1
Current Impact...............................................................................................................2
Outlook...........................................................................................................................2
Future Impact.................................................................................................................2
H1n1 Flu Pandemic...........................................................................................................................2
Current Impact...............................................................................................................3
Outlook...........................................................................................................................3
Future Impact.................................................................................................................3
Legislative Environment – Vietnam Offers VISA Exemption for Diplomatic Passport and Special
Public Service Passport Holders........................................................................................................3
Current Impact...............................................................................................................3
Outlook...........................................................................................................................4
Future Impact.................................................................................................................4
Inequality Distribution of Hotels Across the Country Poses Problems...............................................4
Current Impact...............................................................................................................4
Outlook...........................................................................................................................5
Future Impact.................................................................................................................5
Homestay and Vietnamese-cuisine-cooking Tours Are Becoming More Popular................................5

Outgoing tourism expenditure.....................................................................................11
Domestic tourists..........................................................................................................11
Domestic trips..............................................................................................................11
Domestic tourist expenditure.......................................................................................11
Spa target market.........................................................................................................12
Holiday takers..............................................................................................................12
Tourism spending.........................................................................................................12
Method of Payment......................................................................................................12
Travel Accommodation....................................................................................................................13
Campsites.....................................................................................................................13
Chalets..........................................................................................................................13
Guesthouses.................................................................................................................13
Hostels..........................................................................................................................13
Hotels...........................................................................................................................13
Motels...........................................................................................................................13
Private accommodation................................................................................................13
Self-catering apartments..............................................................................................13
Other.............................................................................................................................13
Hotel Price Platforms...................................................................................................................... 14
Transportation................................................................................................................................. 15
Car Rental.......................................................................................................................................16
Sectors..........................................................................................................................16
Location.......................................................................................................................17
Transactions.................................................................................................................17
Travel Retail.................................................................................................................................... 17
Travel retail product breakdowns................................................................................18
By destination..............................................................................................................18
Travel Retail Online Sales...............................................................................................................19
Internet sales................................................................................................................19
Tourist Attractions...........................................................................................................................19

small scale and celebrated only by locals. Since 2005, the government has made them into big events spanning
several days, with a lot of activities to attract more tourists. Although they seemed to be fascinating for the
tourists initially, the festivals just repeat themselves every year offering nothing new and many tourists feel that
the festivals are becoming too commercial and have lost their spirit. This is the reason why the number of
tourists drawn to these festivals is declining every year.
More Luxury Hotels Springing Up
Many international corporations have recognized the promising tourism business in Vietnam and decided to
invest. Many luxury hotels are being built and existing ones are going through renovation. Vietnam’s first six-
star hotel is being built in Vinperland, Nha Trang and is said to go into business at the end of 2010. However,
there tends to be a mismatch in locations of luxury hotels. Tourists prefer travelling to mountainous and quiet
areas such as the highlands, Sapa, and the countryside, but the hotel rooms in these areas are often all booked
well in advance.
Vietnam Tourism Hopes To Recover in 2010
With good medical attention, most H1N1 swine flu cases took one week to recover. According to the WHO,
travelling restrictions are not necessary. In 2010, the H1N1 epidemic will have been controlled and the global
financial crisis should begin to lessen. Travel and tourism will recover and tourists will come back to Vietnam,
putting the industry in a good position to gain further revenues in the longer term.
KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Impact of the Global Recession
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Travel And Tourism Vietnam
In 2008, the world experienced a financial crisis that had a great impact on every country, including Vietnam. It
continued to have an effect in 2009. Prices kept getting more expensive, especially petrol kept rising. Since the
beginning of the year 2009, the Vietnamese government has adjusted the price of petrol nine times; only one of
which was a decrease. With every adjustment, the price of petrol rose about VND500 per litre. Especially on 1
July 2009, the price of petrol rose from VND11,000 per litre to VND14,500 per litre (32% increase).
This made people’s budgets smaller as salaries stayed the same. Consumer thought hard before buying anything;
let alone travelling. Even though there have been many promotional campaigns such as reducing prices of plane
tickets, hotels and tours, travel and tourism in Vietnam slowed down regardless.

H1n1 Flu Pandemic
H1N1 (also called Swine flu) is a new kind of virus that has never before been circulated among humans. Swine
flu started in Mexico in March 2009 and quickly spread to other countries and continents as people travelled. On
11 June 2009, the World Health Organization (WTO) announced Swine flu as phase 6 (which means it is
considered a pandemic). Until 4 October, according to WTO’s update report number 69 about H1N1, there have
been 375,000 cases of Swine flu and 4,500 deaths all over the world. As for Vietnam, according to the statistics,
there have been over 5,000 cases with six deaths. Research is being taken in order to find a vaccine for Swine
flu but in the mean time, every country and person has to follow some safety instructions to reduce the spread of
the pandemic.
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Travel And Tourism Vietnam
Current Impact
The outbreak of H1N1 has had a great impact on the tourism industry, not only of Vietnam but other countries
as well. Even though the WTO has confirmed that travel restrictions are not necessary, people are still restrained
from travelling as a means of safety. Vietnamese tend to worry a lot about small problems. Therefore, when
Swine Flu broke out, it caused panic everywhere. People went everywhere with masks; even in offices and
schools. If someone had a mild cold and coughed, people would assume that he/she had Swine Flu and took that
person to the hospital for medical isolation. Vietnamese were even scared of foreign tourists for they thought
that international tourists were the ones who brought the Pandemic to Vietnam in the first place. In Vietnam, at
the airports, both domestic and international tourists have to go through screenings to detect infections. Many
schools and universities have been temporarily closed. Vietnam’s tourism has experienced a dramatic decline in
the number of arrivals.
Towards the second half of 2009, all the panics have died down and the number of newly-infected cases has
reduced. People start packing their bags and going on vacation again, especially when Christmas drew near.
Outlook
By the year 2010, optimistically Swine Flu will have been controllable. As for Vietnam, the Lunar New Year is
the time that many international tourists usually come to experience the atmosphere of Vietnam’s New Year
with streets decorated with beautiful flowers and the festivals. Therefore, this is a good time for the Vietnam
government to implement initiatives to attract more tourists. It is predicted that Vietnam travel and tourism will

develop business tourism (or MICE- Meeting Incentive Convention Exhibition) which has become a promising
area in many other countries in recent years. MICE tourists not only stay in luxury hotels but also spend more
on shopping and travelling to many other places in the country. Towards the end of the review period, Vietnam
government has taken steps to attract more MICE tourists. As a result, during the first six months of the year
2009, the number of business arrivals increased by 30% (MICE increased by 35%). However, because of the
Swine Flu Pandemic, the number has gone down dramatically for the whole of 2009.
Outlook
Vietnamese government is taking steps to sign more agreements on free visas for diplomatic passport and
special public service passport holders with many countries across Europe and also the US. These agreements
will come into effect in 2010.
With the tendency of international trade and cooperation, Vietnam’s government will issue more free visas to
tourists coming from some countries in Europe and from the US. This needs a lot of consideration as the more
free visas are given, the more risks that the country faces in terms of illegal migrants. Vietnam’s legislative
system still has some loopholes that illegal immigrants can exploit. Since 2008, Vietnam has faced illegal
immigrants mostly from some African and Asian countries coming to Vietnam to commit fraud , launder
money, or withdraw money with fake credit cards. This is a very serious problem that the Vietnam government
still cannot solve.
Future Impact
Due to the policies of giving free visas for diplomatic passports and special public service passport holders,
Vietnam is going to establish good relationships with many countries in the world. This is also an advantage to
develop other industries such as import, export and education.
Vietnam’s emerging inbound origins are the US, Japan, Korea, China and some countries in Asia. Therefore,
Europe is considered a promising market as Europeans travel a lot and spend a lot of money on shopping and
entertainment. With this act of the Vietnam government, hopefully in the near future, the number of European
tourists will increase.
Illegal immigrants cause a lot of damage to the country’s economy and legislative system. Vietnam’s
government is tightening the laws, not giving visas to some suspicious individuals coming from some African
and Asian countries, as well as heavily fining hotels or other accommodation providers for letting illegal
immigrants stay without a visa, expelling immediately illegal immigrants or travellers coming from Vietnam to
commit crimes.

There is also an inequality in distribution of luxury hotels. There are about 31, 5-star hotels in Vietnam in 2009;
21 of which are located in Ha Noi, the capital city and Ho Chi Minh City. There is a shortage of luxury hotels in
other cities; tourists who visit those cities have to stay in mid-sized or budget hotels with old-fashioned rooms
and poor customer service.
Outlook
It is a big regret that Vietnam cannot accommodate tourists for longer in those areas. The beauty of the scenery
is one very distinct advantage that Vietnam has over other countries. It is also a very good way to introduce the
country’s various culture and natural and “untouched” beauty to the world. Vietnam needs to solve the problem
of how to develop tourism in mountainous areas whilst preserving its natural beauty.
Tours to the countryside to experience the lives of Vietnamese farmers are also a really good idea. Tourists can
enjoy the fresh and peaceful air with no noise, traffic jams or worries about work or school and at the same time
experience how farmers work in the fields or harvest crops. Some travel retailers such as SaigonTourist and
Vietravel are organizing some of those tours as an experiment and received a lot of good response from tourists.
Future Impact
The inequality of distribution of hotels among big cities and mountainous areas will remain great in the future as
more hotels are being built in big cities and coastal areas. No one would take the risk of investing in
constructing new hotels in mountainous and country areas for fear they will not be able to gain profits. If this is
the case, Vietnam will lose a large number of tourists and credit.
Currently, more luxury hotels are being built in Da Nang, Nha Trang and some other tourist cities. Therefore, in
the future, hopefully, Vietnam will attract more tourists to Nha Trang, Da Nang and Phu Quoc, etc, the
inequality in distribution in luxury hotels will gradually decrease.
Homestay and Vietnamese-cuisine-cooking Tours Are Becoming More Popular
During the review period, a new kind of tour appeared and immediately became popular among international
tourists: homestay tours. On homestay tours, tourists are invited to stay with a Vietnamese family. The hosts
will show them around the area, explaining Vietnam’s traditions and folklore, as well as taking them to the
markets, buying ingredients and teaching them how to cook some traditional Vietnamese food. Some luxury
hotels also provide the same kind of service and give the tourists a small certificate after finishing the course.
Current Impact
Many international tourists really love Vietnamese food because it is made with fresh materials and ingredients.
In addition, it contains little much fat and is eaten with a lot of vegetables which is very good for the health.

Vietnam on cruises did not appear to decline.
Current Impact
Since the beginning of 2009, Vietnam has greeted many luxury “floating” hotels with about 234,200 tourists
onboard; a slight increase on 2008. Only around 7% of which are business sea arrivals, and the remaining 93%
leisure sea arrivals. On 2 November 2009, the luxury vessel named Costa Classica, came to Vietnam for the first
time. This was also an experimental cruise to make regular cruises fortnightly to Vietnam during the forecast
period. Costa Classica, one of the luxury vessels of Costa Crociere Corp’s fleet, is 200m long and can carry
2,000 tourists and crew. Costa Crociere Corporation, affiliating with SaigonTourist brought two vessels named
Costa Allegra and Costa Marina to Vietnam before April 2009. This is very good news for Vietnam because
Costa Crociere Corp is one of the biggest sea tourism corporations in Europe.
Tourists going on cruises are often elderly people who have a lot of time and money and would like to learn
about Vietnam’s culture and history. Each tourist going on a cruise is said to spend about US$300-400 per day,
which is about 20-30% more than tourists coming by air or land.
Outlook
With the affiliation between SaigonTourist and Costa Crociere Corp, Vietnam will have a regular number of
tourists on cruises in the future. Most tourists coming on Costa Crociere’s vessels are Italian, French, German
and Spanish. Therefore, with well-organized tours, high quality service and the right policies from the
government, Vietnam could attract more tourists from Europe.
Future Impact
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Travel And Tourism Vietnam
Vietnam’s arrivals will increase in sales terms in accordance with its potential and soon enough will reach the
number of tourists attracted in the year 1999-2002. It is expected that in 2010, Vietnam will greet about 240,000
tourists on cruises and the number for 2014 could reach 300,000 tourists, earning a great deal for the sea
transportation industry.
DEMAND FACTORS
Each employee is given 12 paid leave days a year according to Vietnam Labour Code.
For public holiday, there are six special occasions a year. They are New Year (1 January), Tet Holiday (Lunar
New Year, varies according to the lunar calendar), King Hung’s Anniversary (10 March on the lunar calendar),

Public Holidays On Working Days 5.0 8.0 9.0 9.0
Public Holidays Not On Working 3.0 5.0 3.0 1.0
Days
Leave Entitlement 20.0 25.0 24.0 22.0
Source: Euromonitor International
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Travel And Tourism Vietnam
Table 2 Holiday Demographic Trends 2004-2009
% number of people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Holiday Takers 20.2 20.5 22.5 25.0 24.3 27.3
Non-Holiday Takers 79.8 79.5 77.5 75.0 75.7 72.7
Source: Euromonitor International
Note: Holiday takers as % of total population
Table 3 Holiday Takers by Sex 2004-2009
% number of people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Male 67.4 67.4 67.4 67.1 67.0 63.8
Female 32.6 32.6 32.6 32.9 33.0 36.2
Source: Euromonitor International
Note: Sex of national tourists (domestic and outbound)
Table 4 Holiday Takers by Age 2004-2009
% number of people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
0-14 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.0 1.1 0.9
15-24 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4
25-34 30.7 30.7 30.7 30.8 30.9 31.0
35-49 47.4 47.4 47.5 47.5 47.5 47.5
50-64 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.0 12.1