Vietnamese people are not ready to travel abroad and still prefer domestic tourism in 2022. (Photo: nhandan.com.vn)
Since the pandemic, Vietnamese travelers have had to call off travel plans and had to find alternative outlets for their wanderlust. Accordingly, there has been a spike in online travel as Vietnamese travelers viewed more travel-related photos and videos, filling out their bucket lists.
More than half (53%) of respondents watched YouTube travel videos and 40% took to travel sites on social media as an alternative, and as many as 38% took a virtual tour online.
“Domestic destinations fit better for most Vietnamese travelers, with strong preference for weekend getaways and short holidays,” said Ms. Dang Tuyet Dung, Country Manager for Visa Vietnam and Laos.
“Almost twice as many Vietnamese travelers opt to travel domestically, to places that can best accommodate their new priorities. Businesses can capitalize on these trends by ensuring safety and comfort in all aspects of their offerings, including payments. The pandemic has spurred digital and contactless payment adoption among all consumer groups and made it a basic expectation,” she added.
Despite the benefits they could bring through the controlled reopening of borders and industries, travel bubbles elicit only moderate interest among Vietnamese respondents, with over half (52%) saying they were keen to travel within a bubble but not in the immediate future.
As a particular consequence of the pandemic, people are rediscovering their immediate surroundings, giving rise to the growing trend of staycation – vacations in their own city. Around a third of respondents said they would be planning, booking or having a staycation as soon as possible if there were no longer any government restrictions. Thirty percent would also visit local attractions.
The Voice of the Consumer survey was conducted by Green Shoots Radar for Visa in June 2021 across 14 markets: China, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Australia, and New Zealand.
The total sample size is 8,400 including consumers in Vietnam aged 18 years old and above, covering all education groups with a minimum monthly household income defined (varies across markets)./.