Come & Go Vietnam

I’ve just got back from 10 very enjoyable days in Thailand, attending meetings and a friend’s wedding in Bangkok and exploring the beaches of Phuket.

One thing that impressed me about the island (aside from the stunning beaches obviously) was that a company was giving out free prepaid SIM cards in the baggage reclaim hall. What a great idea - not only are visitors saved the hassle of tracking down (and paying for) a SIM card themselves, it also gives them a great first impression of Phuket and also generates extra tourist income, with people topping up SIM cards they may not initially have bothered to buy.

Great idea - how about it Mobifone/Vinaphone?

Last week I was invited to be guest speaker at the City Net Events ‘Meeting Point’ networking event, which took place at the Hard Rock Cafe. My subject: Vietnam Tourism 2010 - What’s Hot, What’s Not! - a summary of what’s happening in the country’s tourism industry at the moment based on my own observations and on feedback from customers and web travel forums such as Tripadvisor.

Several attendees have asked me for a summary of my talk so here, in brief bullet-point form, is a recap of some of the key points…

• 2010 is already seeing considerable tourism growth over 2009, though the figures are distorted by the change in visa regulations meaning expats doing their three-monthly visa runs to Cambodia are being counted as tourist visitors
• Vietnam receives around 4m visitors per year - Phuket alone receives the same, while Singapore receives nearly 10m. Why? Better infrastructure, more things to do, they cater for ALL markets rather than just cultural tourists, and most visitors do not require visas
• Around 50% of visitors to Thailand go back a second time. For Vietnam, the figure is around 5%. Why? Scamming/overcharging, visa regulations, unoriginal tour products, characterless hotels, poor infrastructure (3500km of coastline yet not one single yachting marina for example), a lack of entertainment (particularly nightlife), and the focus on cultural tourists, who only tend to visit destinations once
• What tourists like about Vietnam - smiling people, cheap prices, beautiful landscapes, hot weather, great beaches, and a variety of food & drink
• Vietnam has considerable advantages over its neighbours - it is more politically stable than Thailand, has better beaches, shopping and golf courses than Cambodia, and is cheaper and easier to get to than Laos

Hotspots for 2010:

• Phu Quoc - demand is exceeding supply for this beautiful island with its stunning beaches and slow pace of life. But go there quickly before the planned casinos & golf courses destroy its charm
• Vietnamese Riviera - the stretch of coast between Vung Tau & Mui Ne is a hidden gem. Places such as Ke Ga, La Gi & Ho Tram offer genuine peace & quiet, and more resorts are planned
• Con Dao - beautifully unspoilt, some great beaches, national park with loads of wildlife, old French prison camp, and some of the country’s best remaining French colonial architecture. New Six Senses Hideaway opens in early 2011 which will really put the destination on the map
• Mekong Delta - yes, you’ve all been there but as all tour operators copy each other, most tourists only see My Tho/Cai Be/Vinh Long, and maybe Can Tho. Tourists are now starting to explore further, with destinations like Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Chau Doc and Ha Tien becoming increasingly popular, as well as an alternative route into Cambodia
• Mai Chau - lots of tourists visit Sapa while Mai Chau is less favoured, despite being a lot closer to Hanoi. Stunning scenery, really friendly people, some genuinely authentic homestays, great food and plenty of activities make this a great place to get away

To close, I put Vietnam’s tourism industry into perspective. Whilst France has had a tourism industry since the 18th century or earlier, Thailand since the 1960s, Malaysia since the early 1970s and Spain since 1975, Vietnam’s tourism industry really began in the mid-90s and so it is still a relative beginner. So given its novice status, it isn’t doing too badly and things will continue to improve!

* Thanks to Thomas De Lange and Tran Ngoc Thanh at City Net Events for inviting me to speak at this event and for their excellent organisation.

The following snippet from an article in today’s Thanh Nien News caught my eye:

According to the Vietnam National Tourism Administration (VNAT), only 30 percent of foreign tourists to Vietnam want to return the country, mainly businesspeople coming to Vietnam to study investment and business opportunities.

But director of VNAT’s Travel Department Vu The Binh said, “The number (of foreign visitors returning to the country) is normal, as tourism is mainly about discovery. So, if you visit one country this year, you want make a trip to another the next year.”

Frightening that someone working in tourism can have so little grasp of the importance of repeat business! The real figure of tourists (NOT businesspeople, who should not be counted as tourists) who do actually return to Vietnam is around 5%, as opposed to 49% for Thailand. There are many reasons for this, but one key reason is that Vietnam only seeks to attract cultural or “discovery” tourists, rather than holidaymakers, whereas Thailand has the sense to attract both.

Tourism isn’t just about discovery. It’s about relaxation, sunbathing, golf, watersports, food, fishing, nightlife, and pretty much any other of life’s pleasures you care to mention. Vietnam can offer all of these things perfectly well, but it sometimes seems as if the powers that be are ashamed of this fact!

To refuse to even acknowledge that the holidaymaker market exists and to settle for such a pitiful repeat visit rate is very, very shortsighted and this, more than any other of Vietnam’s tourism shortcomings, is what is preventing it from competing with Thailand and Malaysia as a major regional player.

As 2009 comes to a close, we’d like to wish all our customers, partners and suppliers a very happy & healthy 2010!

We had a very successful first year of trading and 2010 looks like being even better. As well as our usual Vietnam tours, we’re now working with quality partners in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos so if you’re planning a trip to one or more of those countries in 2010, please get in touch.

Although the global recession is still biting, Vietnam has seen an increase in tourism in recent months and remains a great value recession-busting destination, with great value accommodation, cheap transport costs, and very cheap shopping, eating and drinking.

We’ll be offering more Vietnam destinations in the coming months, as well as adding more programmes and information to our website and, assuming I can find the time, a new series of Vietnam podcasts.

So thanks for your support in 2009, and we look forward to working with you all in 2010!

Thanh Nien news features an encouraging report on a deal between a local clothing firm and fashion channel FTV to promote Vietnam as a tourism destination.

The quote that stood out for me was:

“Our country has enormous tourism potential with hundreds of resorts which are no less beautiful than those overseas,” Viet said, “So we need to enhance our promotion.”

He said advertising on international television networks was an inexpensive way to tell foreign viewers Vietnam had more to offer than its iconic pho(beef noodle soup) and ao dai (the traditional Vietnamese dress).

Spot on! As I’ve frequently banged on about on this very blog, there is more to Vietnam than the rather staid cultural image currently featured in its tourism marketing - countries like Thailand and Malaysia have marketed themselves very successfully by combining their local culture with beaches, golf and general FUN, so no reason why VN shouldn’t do likewise!

And FTV, kitsch though it is, is a good choice, as it seems to be the default channel for hotel bars across the world, meaning the Vietnam ads will get a lot of eyeballs. Let’s hope the ads deserve them…

Thanh Nien News reports today that Vietnam is being advertised on ten London black cabs, from 3rd September.

Not a bad idea in itself - London taxis cover a lot of miles per day and their advertisements do get noticed. But the choice of images - particularly that of women in ao dai - is not such a good idea. “Hey, they have women in long dresses in Vietnam, let’s go!” I think not.

Further evidence that destination marketing in Vietnam is still tied up with a hidebound notion that culture sells. It does sell, but to a decent sized market of one-off visitors. Too much of Vietnam’s tourism marketing seems to be selling a 2-week boot camp in Vietnamese culture & history.

Look at really successful tourism marketing campaigns, such as Amazing Thailand or Malaysia, Truly Asia - sure, they include images of the country’s cultural icons, but more importantly, they show images of FOREIGN PEOPLE ENJOYING THEMSELVES, four words which are as close to a definition of what tourism should be about as you can get. The Thailand and Malaysia campaigns aren’t just about Thailand and Malaysia, they’re also about YOU the visitor, and that’s something Vietnam isn’t doing well at the moment.

This country has great restaurants, golf courses and beaches, so why isn’t it selling them?