A problem
many countries would love to have
We see Thailand heading up the list
in total overall international arrivals followed by Malaysia and Singapore –
no surprise there
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Tourists in Ho Chi
Minh City. Photo: Tuoi Tre
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World
Heritage Sites Ha Long Bay, My Son Ruins, and many others are generating
massive international interest as well as events such as the APEC Summit held
late last year in Da Nang. Many friends overseas knew I’d been spending a lot
of time in Da Nang and wrote to say how blown away they were by the beauty of
the city as displayed during broadcasts of the APEC meetings.
It’s
all systems “go” if infrastructure and services can bear the burden of more
tourists coming to Vietnam.
So,
where are all these visitors coming from?
2017 TOP 10
MARKETS - INBOUND TOURISTS TO VIETNAM
We see that the People’s Republic of
China is heading up the list, no surprise since it’s the world’s most
populous country and northern neighbour to Vietnam. Some of the statistics
are mind-boggling:
1.
China’s population is 1.4 billion of which only 5 percent have passports, so
that comes to 70 million that are eligible for international travel.
2.
Those 70 million passport holders made over 130 million trips abroad in 2017.
3.
Authorities are issuing new passports at a rate of about 10 million per year.
4.
At that pace China will have 100 million eligible international travellers by
2020.
5.
If those eligible continue to travel at the same rate as in 2017 Chinese
travellers will make 185 million trips abroad in 2020.
6.
Chinese travellers spend 20 percent of worldwide overseas travel
expenditures. That’s right, out of every $5 spent on travel in the world,
Chinese spend $1.
China
and South Korea are the source of about half the tourists that come to
Vietnam.
Should
they continue to arrive at the same pace during the next two years, China and
South Korea would represent two-thirds of all arrivals to Vietnam by the end
of 2019.
Of
course this is great news all around – or is it?
Yes
it is great, but there are challenges on the horizon – and some already present
and being worked on.
Because
of the sheer volume of visitors from those two countries some destinations,
particularly Nha Trang and Da Nang are gaining reputations as destinations
targeted mostly at Chinese and South Korean package tourists.
Market
pressure keeps prices down plus tourists from other sources are less likely
to visit destinations perceived as being overrun by one nationality or
another.
Next
issue is Chinese tour guides operating illegally in Vietnam have been
arrested, which is a sensitive topic with 4 million visitors involved and
laws that are hard to enforce in some situations.
For
example, if one member of a group is leading a tour and says they are
volunteering because they speak English or Vietnamese, who can state
otherwise?
Some
of the illegal Chinese guides distort Vietnamese history implying that China
still exercises some control over Vietnam. The current dispute in the East Vietnam
Sea involving the notorious “9 dash line” is one of many examples.
So
Vietnamese authorities are left to manage a difficult situation so that only
qualified professional local Vietnamese guides are used on Chinese and other
tours.
There
is also a scam involving Chinese tourists called “Zero Dong Tours” which
involve heavily discounted or free trips over land or by airplane to
destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, and Nha Trang.
Then
the customers are duped into shopping, dining, and lodging at establishments
owned by those Chinese tour operators or companies with which they have a
commission deal thus facilitating a tidy profit. Often customers are coerced
into buying at heavily inflated prices making the profits that much greater.
Payments
are often made and transferred back to China electronically using online
applications so the result is little or no profit goes into Vietnamese hands.
The
tourists end up with a sub-standard travel experience, legitimate Vietnamese
businesses lose profit to the Chinese companies, and these illegal tours
tarnish the image of Vietnam as a destination.
This
is also a tricky situation for Vietnamese authorities to manage because some
of the transactions are perfectly legal, while others avoid taxes and are
thus against Vietnamese laws.
It’s
well-known that Chinese tourists are often not the most polite guests. Some
are considered so ill-behaved that the city of Da Nang distributed 5,000
copies of a Chinese-language etiquette book for Chinese visitors including
appropriate dress, littering, and respect of sacred venues.
Fair
enough, the Chinese are new to the travel scene and need time to get up to
speed on how to behave while abroad and it doesn’t happen overnight.
Environmental
issues are starting to cause concern leading to discussion on potentially
limiting the number of tourists visiting the most cherished World Heritage
Sites in the future.
Ha
Long Bay, the Sa Pa region of northern Lao Cai Province, and historic Hoi An
each welcome millions of visitors annually, so should a limit on visitors be
considered?
Visa
availability is another tricky subject that has a direct impact on tourism
especially in Southeast Asia, where competition among destinations is
especially tough.
Chinese
citizens need a visa to enter Vietnam, but that appears not to be an
impediment given the huge increase in arrivals. In 2015 Indonesia waived
visas for 45 countries including China, resulting partly in the robust
increases in arrivals we now see.
We
have no way of knowing how many Chinese tourists would visit Vietnam if no
visa was required.
Vietnam
offers temporary visa-free entry to citizens of 22 countries, including nine
ASEAN member countries (ranging from 14 to 30 days per entry), South Korea,
Japan, Russia (15 days each), and 10 European countries (also limited at 15
days).
Some
of the visa-free arrangements will expire in mid-2018 and others at the end
of 2019, so difficult decisions will need to be made.
Vietnam
introduced a trial electronic visa system for citizens of 46 countries early
in 2017 which processes 30 day tourist visas for US$25. This program could be
expanded to include more countries and the online processing streamlined.
The
visa situation is difficult to manage because on one hand it makes good sense
to control who enters Vietnam up front as opposed to tracking down
unscrupulous visitors who work illegally or are involved in criminal
activities after they’ve entered.
Finally,
airport commercial airline capacity is an issue shared by virtually every
growing economy the world over, and Vietnam is faced with tough decisions and
large infrastructural investments.
The
two largest airports in the country, Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi
and Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City, each have expansions underway and more
projects approved for the coming years.
To
reduce the pressure of increased traffic on those two airports many new
destinations continue to be added to the other nine international airports in
Vietnam as well as expansion of facilities.
While
there are many issues being addressed the huge upward trend in arrivals these
past two years means there is a continued opportunity going forward.
Who
knows? Maybe one day we’ll see Vietnam right at the top of the list of ASEAN
tourist arrivals.
In
the meantime these are nice problems to have…..
By Rick Ellis / Tuoi Tre
News Contributor
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