More foreign travelers to HCMC choose self-guided tours

More travelers choose self-planned tours

The number of self-guided domestic travelers is also high, but most Vietnamese appear to prefer package tours.

A survey on the length of stay and average expenditures of travelers to HCM City conducted in 2017 by the HCM City Statistics Office and the Tourism Department found a growing tendency of self-planned tours.

Sixty-nine percent of polled foreign travelers said they chose self-planned tours, while the remaining said they would book tours at travel agencies.

Travel firms confirmed that many travelers book partial services, rather than book package tours. After arriving in HCM City, travelers choose the next destination themselves.

Travel firms confirmed that many travelers book partial services, rather than book package tours. After arriving in HCM City, travelers choose the next destination themselves.

However, package tours provided by travel firms still prevail. “The majority of travelers still buy package tours, but the number buying partial services is on the rise,” said Bui Viet Thuy Tien, CEO of Asian Trails.

Nguyen Son Thuy, CEO of Duy Nhat Dong Duong Travel, also said self-planned travelers are mostly from near markets.

Travelers from Malaysia, for example, don’t book package tours, but they fly to HCMC with air tickets they book themselves and reserve hotel rooms in the Ben Thanh Market area.

After arriving in HCM City, they go to domestic travel agencies to book tours to Mekong Delta’s provinces, or tour HCM City.

The travelers from faraway markets prefer package tours, but a high number of European travelers now tend to book online.

“They only buy tours to do sighseeing, not package tours with full services provided by travel firms,” Thuy said. “The trend began some years ago and it has been growing.”

The survey also found that the proportion of Vietnamese self-guided travelers to HCM City was even higher than foreign travelers – 80.9 percent last year. However, comparing three surveys in 2005, 2011 and 2017, the number of travelers using package tours is on the rise.

In 2005, the number of travelers using package tours accounted for 11.9 percent. The figure rose to 16 percent in 2011 and to 19.1 percent in 2017.

The surveyors explained that Vietnamese travelers tend to choose package tours because the tour fees have become more attractive.

Travel firms can cooperate well with service providers (food, accommodation and transport services) to slash the selling prices.

Analysts have also found that the number of domestic travelers coming by air has increased sharply. Only 16 percent of travelers flew to HCM City in 2015, while the figure rose to 41.5 percent in 2017.