The appeal of innovative experience tourism

Domestic tourism is gaining traction in the ending months of 2020

Data from the General Department of Tourism showed that domestic tourists reached 42.5 million in the first 10 months of 2020. According to Booking.com, Vietnam witnessed an unprecedented increase in domestic tourism during the COVID-19 era. A whopping 96 per cent of the total distance travelled by Vietnamese between June 1 and August 31, 2020 was within the country, compared to only 52 per cent during the same period in 2019.

As international routes have yet to be recovered, domestic tourists are the "lifeline" of the national tourism industry. This is an important time for tourism businesses, travel agencies, and hospitality developers as domestic tourism will be the driving force for the development of tourism and hospitality market in the near future.

Meanwhile, the hunger for holidays is stimulating the hospitality market after several months of social restrictions in various places. Tourism lovers are looking for new destinations in Vietnam or popular destinations with new experiences. According to a September survey of 1,000 people by the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), over 20 per cent of respondents have plans to travel from December 2020 to January 2021, at Christmas and New Year. Around 12.4 per cent will travel during the Lunar New Year from February to April 2021. About 18.2 per cent want to take summer vacation from May to September 2021 while only 8.1 per cent will travel later.

As a result, tourists prefer to take a trip for a few days to destinations close to their home with convenient access by car. This is reflected in a report by property consultancy firm JLL Vietnam, destinations close to Ho Chi Minh City like Vung Tau, Ho Tram, and Long Hai, as well as tourist-centric cities like Dalat, Nha Trang, and Phan Thiet have been filled with tourists during the weekends.

Experience tourism is on the rise

The tourists’ demand is the driving force for the hospitality industry. However, to attract tourists, new tourism products are needed that create unique and interesting experiences and help retain tourists for many days.

Speaking at the seminar on boosting the recovery of Vietnam's resort real estate, Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels Asia-Pacific, said that domestic tourists account for 85 per cent of the total tourists, meaning that they can provide a strong boost for Vietnam’s tourism market as a whole. As a result, there is growing demand for product models such as inner-city resorts, design-focused hotels, wellness resorts, and complexes with unique food and beverage experiences or non-stop weekends.

In that context, developers have seized the opportunity to develop resort complexes of thousands of hectares in potential localities to enrich the experience for visitors.

Ho Tram is changing its facade with a series of large-scale projects

Ho Tram in Ba Ria-Vung Tau is one typical example of a gathering place for peaceful resorts. Ho Tram is welcoming a great opportunity to become a new tourist centre of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Along the 30km coastal road from Loc An to Binh Chau the road is being upgraded and expanded to 42m in width, the development of the shophouse chain of the NovaWorld Ho Tram project is contributing to diversify utilities and entertainment, cuisine, shopping services for the whole area. In September 2020, SaiGon Casa Café system has been put into operation at NovaWorld Ho Tram, becoming a new destination for both tourists and local residents.

In addition, the development of outstanding entertainment facilities at NovaWorld Ho Tram tourism-entertainment also transformed the tranquil beach of Ho Tram. The unique saltwater Ocean Pool with an area of ​​5,000 square metres is about to be put into operation. It will attract visitors who are looking for new experiences at the popular tourist destination. Moreover, Tropicana Park is also scheduled for completion and operation in 2021, which will make Ho Tram even more vibrant in the coming time.

NovaWorld Ho Tram boasts several tourism products such as luxury resorts and a high-end entertainment area. The project is expected to bring top-notch experience from entertainment to shopping and food with domestic and international brands in all fields. Novaworld Ho Tram is providing a self-contained tourism-resort-entertainment complex that meets all travel needs of diverse groups of customers.

The project is implementing The Tropicana and Wonderland with a series of second-home products and beach shophouses to meet the needs of ownership for tourism and investment as well as transfer or business exploitation and future lease.

This is also an opportunity for nimble investors to capitalise on the growing trend of "staycation", which is expected to boom in the coming time. It will offer promising and sustainable profit opportunities for those who own second-homes in localities with great potential for tourism development and close proximity to major cities.