Digitally-driven travelers lead Vietnam’s travel reopening

HO CHI MINH CITY – Vietnam’s reopening of its domestic tourism sector is expected to be replicated by focusing on short-haul Asian markets, boosting its international tourism image, according to a survey conducted by hotel consultancy group, C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications.

The country has effectively demonstrated COVID-19 battle mode in Southeast Asia, focusing on the most important drivers of airfreight demand.

The latest survey of qualified tourists in China’s first-tier cities by hotel consultancy group C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications aims to understand the relative overseas travel sentiment for the rest of 2020 and analyze China’s demand for Vietnam’s inbound tourism.

The main point highlighted in the survey is that nearly half of the respondents want to travel abroad this year, with 45% of them interested in traveling to Vietnam specifically.

In addition, post-COVID-19 Chinese tourists are looking for more mainstream and well-known destinations, and the top destinations in Vietnam are Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Nha Trang/Cam Ranh and Halong Bay.

Commenting on the reopening of Vietnam’s tourism industry, Bill Barnett, managing director of C9 Hotelworks, said: “Expect a short-term post-crisis ‘fear factor’ that will prolong air travel, which will manifest as a preference for short-haul, door-to-door. Door This is an important opportunity for Chinese outbound tourism to Vietnam.”

“It is also important to understand that domestic travel and tourism will define the gradual recovery process now and in the coming months. The significance of the Sino-Vietnamese survey is who the immediate post-crisis travelers are and how hotel and tourism stakeholders Be proactive in meeting their needs. We’re seeing a parallel trend of early travelers in our domestic and Chinese data, which is paired in the new travel visitor profile,” Barnett said.

Using market insights was an important point expressed by David Johnson, CEO of Delivering Asia Communications, who added: “A 360-degree look at the results of more than 1,000 qualified respondents concluded that the rest of the year Tourism will be greatly affected as young travelers aged 20-29 are increasingly placing hotel bookings on digital platforms.”

“Two other important trends in our China study show that, in addition to sightseeing and eating as the main activities, nature preferences are on the rise, possibly in response to changes in tourism values ​​after the crisis. Delving into accommodation preferences, economy/ The two ends of the price spectrum for budget and five-star hotels received the most positive responses from the Chinese surveyed,” he said.

The last key point of the survey is the reflection of young travelers, 81% of them said that they would choose independent travel instead of traveling with a group. This fact, combined with young Chinese booking digital tours through WeChat and Fliggy, is a new twist in Vietnam’s marketing to Chinese inbound tourists. —VNS