Vietnam has received 12.5 million international tourists this year, reaching a target set by the government at the start of the year, but well below pre-COVID levels, VN Express is reporting.
Key points
- The tourism sector recorded revenue of VND 672 trillion (US$27.6 billion);
- The sector has recovered to 44 percent of pre-COVID levels;
- By comparison Thailand has reached 75 percent and Malaysia has fully recovered;
- The sector has a lack of skilled workers;
- Advertising in foreign markets is ‘uninteresting’ and ‘limited’, according to Nguyen Tien Dat, the CEO of AZA travel and vice president of the Hanoi Tourism Club.
This article also points out that visa reforms were made in August that extended the length of tourist visas and visa-free periods. However, a big portion of tourists pre-COVID came from Russia and China–China only allowed citizens to travel from March and it is facing a number of economic challenges; and Russia is in the middle of a war and cut out of the SWIFT banking system making it challenging for its citizens to travel. These factors may also be weighing on the sector.