The growing tourism sector is opening areas right across the country.
Despite Vietnam welcoming in fifty percent less tourists than the popular tourist destinations of Thailand and Malaysia, the country is making good headway if compared to previous years. Over the last ten years visitors numbers have tripled. Plus in 2016 Vietnam enjoyed 10 million international arrivals according to figures from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This is a 26 percent yearly increase and estimates don’t expect this to slowdown anytime soon. By 2030 approximately 18 million tourists are predicted annually.
So what does this mean? Well, firstly Vietnam has a lot of potential to exploit this growing sector. Despite the Chinese and Russian visitors numbers escalating at a significant pace due to visa exemptions and Vietnam’s location to these two countries, the country has a wealth of attractions that draw tourists globally.
Who is visiting?
But aside from those coming to Vietnam to enjoy the culture and climate that it offers, some come purely for business alone due to Vietnam’s buoyant economy. In fact business travellers account for 40 percent of all visitors. Tending to hone in on the country’s buzzing cities of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi that in 2016 welcomed five million and 4 million alike.
Foreigners are not the only ones contributing to this expanding tourism. Vietnam’s growing middle class has resulted in more residents travelling. This has spurred on the growth of budget airlines who in turn make travel more accessible opening up new areas outside of the popular Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Plus direct flights now even operate into Vietnam internationally.
In response to this demand the country has increased its supply of accommodation. The hotel market is flourishing with a focus at the upper end. This has been reinforced by demand from international visitors seeking luxury. Subsequently the country’s islands and resort destinations such as Phu Quoc, Da Nang and Nha Trang have all overtaken Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in terms of visitor numbers.
However there is still a lot of work needed to make Vietnam a popular holiday destination. The tourism sector needs to be propped up by an adequate infrastructure network. The two go hand-in-hand. So the government has pledged to invest USD 5.6 billion into the airport network. Each of the country’s airports need to increase their capacity numbers in order to meet with and maintain demand. Nevertheless so far so good, the country has clear indicators of tourism success and this is one country the rest of the region needs to keep an eye on.