Domestic tourism gold mine for travel firms

While the number of inbound travelers fluctuates unpredictably, the number of domestic travelers has been increasing steadily, bringing high growth to travel firms.



All beaches and tourism sites throughout the country were overloaded in the May holiday.

‘Overcrowding’ was the word local newspapers used to describe the wave of people flocking to tourism points in Vung Tau, Da Lat, Ha Long, Sam Son and Sa Pa.

A report from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) shows that the number of domestic travelers has been increasing steadily since 2000.

In 2000, there were only 11.2 million domestic travelers, while the figure rose to 62 million in 2016 and is expected to soar to 66.7 million this year.

Every year, the tourism industry has several million new domestic travelers, while the travelers’ spending is also on the rise.

The 2014 report, the latest report released by VNAT and the EU, showed that one-fourth of domestic travelers travel within the day and the average spending was VND944,000.

The travelers staying overnight spend VND4.1 million and the average stay time is 3.79 million.

The reports from some HCMC-based travel firms show that in the past, tourists only had demand for excursion and relaxation, but now, they have many more requirements, such as meetings and special tours. Travel firms can sell package tours and provide separate services.

According to Doan Thi Thanh Tra, marketing and communication director of Saigontourist, the number of domestic travelers at the firm is increaseing by 18-20 percent per annum. The revenue from domestic travelers accounts for 40 percent of total revenue of the firm.

“The domestic market still has plenty of room to exploit,” Tra said.

“In the past, we only sold package tours. But now, there are many kinds of services. And the more services we provide, the more customers we have,” she said.

However, though the domestic market has seen a stable increase of travelers choosing domestic destinations, more and more Vietnamese tend to go abroad because many outbound tours are cheaper than domestic tours.

The tours to Taiwan and Thailand, for example, are cheaper for Saigonese than tours to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay.

The services at foreign destinations are diverse and more stable in price, and it is easier for travel firms to design tours. Meanwhile, foreign tourism promotion agencies launch promotion programs to help travel firms advertise products and approach customers.

Tran The Dung, deputy director of The He Tre, said it is difficult to design domestic tours because of the high and unstable service fees. In the May holiday, for example, air tickets to many destination points increased by 20-30 percent.

Kim Chi / vietnamnet