Luxury tourists, willing to spend a lot of money for unique and luxurious experiences, are the target of many countries. Vietnam, with attractive destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Hoi An and Phu Quoc, can completely attract this type of visitor.
The Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030 identifies attracting investment, developing luxury tourism and creating attractive tourism products as one of the important orientations to attract international tourists; contributing to the development of tourism in a professional, quality, effective and sustainable direction, enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnam’s tourism.
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| Khem Beach in Phu Quoc - One of the wedding venues of the Indian billionaire family in Phu Quoc in January 2024 |
Luxury tourism is a type of tourism with a fast growth rate in the global tourism industry, bringing high revenue and efficiency. The global luxury tourism market will be valued at more than 2,100 billion USD in 2023 and the market is expected to reach over 3,000 billion USD in 2032 and will post a compound annual growth rate of 4% in the 2024-2032 period.
In the first nine months of 2024, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism said that the number of international visitors to Vietnam reached 12.7 million, an increase of 43% over the same period last year. In particular, the quality of tourists is increasing. However, the assessment shows that the number of high-end tourists with high spending is still modest.
Mr. Pham Ha, CEO of LuxGroup said that recently, rich Indians like to travel and organize weddings in Vietnam. Many celebrities and superstars also brought their families to Vietnam for vacation. Small groups also choose Vietnam to organize luxury conferences and events. Therefore, in the context of the tourism industry aiming to become a key economic sector of the country, promoting the exploitation of the high-end tourist market segment is extremely important.
Aiming to attract luxury customers, Vietnam clearly identifies this customer segment, especially their needs and preferences. According to Mr. Pham Ha, luxury tourists can be divided into six groups with different characteristics in terms of preferences and spending.
First is the exclusive luxury customer. This is the most traditional segment such as the case of the Indian billionaire who recently held a wedding in Phu Quoc. Second is the group of customers who like luxury traveling. Third is the smart customer. This is an interesting customer group but sometimes very challenging for tour operators. The fourth is the group looking for new experiences and willing to pay to have an ideal tourism product. The fifth group is customers who admire luxury. This group saves money rather than spends money, not willing to pamper themselves even though they have to work hard. This group does not have much potential. The sixth is the group of young and busy luxury customers, a new growing segment.
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| Vietnam has much potential to develop high-end tourism |
Thus, Mr. Pham Ha said that in order to meet the needs of the six luxury tourist groups above, travel businesses need to deliver 5C services, including Culture, Cuisine, Customization, Community and Content. Travel programs that meet the above five factors will attract and satisfy the most demanding tourists.
Aiming to attract high-end tourists, Vietnam needs to focus on developing unique tourism products that are imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity, such as tours to explore indigenous cultures, traditional culinary courses or high-end spa services.
At the same time, the country needs to invest in promoting its tourism image to target markets, especially high-end tourist markets.
Vietnam has great potential to become a leading high-end tourism destination . However, to achieve this goal, the tourism industry needs strong and synchronous investment from both the state and businesses. Tourism businesses, local authorities and management agencies need to join hands to develop high-end tourism in Vietnam, turning potential into reality, contributing to making Vietnam a leading tourist destination./.