Tourism growth from ASEAN+3

Looking at tourism statistics for the first six months of the year, it is clear that Vietnam's tourism industry has seen positive growth in international visitors. The total number of international visitors in six months reached over 8.8 million, an increase of 58.4% compared to the same period last year and 4.1% higher than the same period in 2019, a time when tourism was flourishing.

Close cooperation with ASEAN+3 countries has brought many opportunities for Vietnam's tourism, with significant increases in visitors from the three markets of South Korea, China, and Japan. In terms of market scale, South Korea continues to be Vietnam's largest source market in the first half of 2024 with 2.2 million visitors (accounting for 25.8%). China ranks second with 1.8 million visitors (accounting for 21.4%). These two markets alone contributed 47.2% of the total number of international visitors in the last six months. Japan also saw a high number of visitors to Vietnam, ranking fifth with 336,000 visitors.

In terms of growth momentum, in the first six months of the year, the major markets in Northeast Asia were the main drivers for the recovery of international visitors. Specifically, the Chinese market increased by 229.4% compared to the same period in 2023, South Korea by 42.4%, and Japan by 39.2%. The nearby markets in Southeast Asia also showed good growth, including Indonesia (116.1%), the Philippines (57.3%), Laos (19.9%), Cambodia (17%), Malaysia (9.3%), and Singapore (9.8%).

For Thua Thien Hue, the number of international visitors in the first six months of the year increased by nearly 43% compared to the same period last year. Although there is a diversity of visitors from various countries, the number of visitors from ASEAN+3 countries also showed positive signs, especially from South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Recently, at the 45th online meeting of the ASEAN+3 National Tourism Organizations (China, Japan, South Korea), Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, stated that continuous support from China, Japan, and South Korea for ASEAN tourism development, especially through promotional projects and events, has helped promote the image of ASEAN tourism in these three countries. China, Japan, and South Korea remain important source markets for Vietnam, and Vietnam has implemented various policies to facilitate travel. Among these, Vietnam has introduced a new visa policy, extending the e-visa duration to 90 days and the temporary stay duration for some eligible countries to 45 days.

According to Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Information Promotion Center, since the T2 terminal of Phu Bai International Airport was put into operation, the tourism sector has organized charter flights to and from South Korea and China. South Korea used to be the leading market for visitors to Hue, but it showed signs of stagnation in recent years and is now recovering. The Ancient Capital tourism also welcomes many tourists from China, Japan, and ASEAN countries and is seeking solutions to achieve strong growth in visitors from these countries.

Finding solutions to increase the number of visitors

Looking at the top 10 international visitors to Hue for three consecutive months (April, May, June 2024), although Thua Thien Hue attracts European visitors and some ASEAN countries like Thailand and Malaysia well, the absence of many ASEAN+3 countries in the top 10 raises the issue of finding solutions to increase the number of visitors as these international markets are increasingly choosing Vietnam as a tourist destination.

According to representatives of the Tourism Information Promotion Center, the reason why the number of visitors from these countries has not “exploded” for Hue tourism is that each international tourist market has different demands and needs.

For example, Japanese tourists require high service standards and deep cultural experiences. However, there are still not many specialized high-end tourism products in Hue. For Korean tourists, there is a trend of favoring spa tourism products, but Hue lacks many large-scale facilities. As for Chinese tourists, they seek experiences in seafood, beach resorts, and entertainment services, but Hue's competitiveness in this area is not high. 

This issue requires both short-term and long-term strategies, including supplementing, building, and completing tourism services and continuing to attract investment, meeting infrastructure and service needs, and developing additional suitable tourism products.

Currently, ASEAN tourism, in general, and Vietnamese tourism, in particular, are receiving continuous support from China, Japan, and South Korea for ASEAN tourism development, especially through promotional projects and events that help promote the image of ASEAN tourism in these three countries. The provincial tourism industry needs to find solutions to make Thua Thien Hue's tourism image more present so that more tourists know about it.

One important direction that Thua Thien Hue's tourism industry has set is to focus on effective tourism promotion strategies through international media channels. The provincial tourism industry also aims to invite famous travel bloggers, KOLs, and vloggers both domestically and internationally to inspire tourism among the public, serving the need for destination information and experience for tourists in different markets.