Vietnam’s tourism brand in need of methodical marketing strategies

Vietnam’s tourism brand needs methodical marketing strategies

The country's tourism sector served over 6.2 million foreign visitors and 40.5 million domestic tourists over the first four months of this year, earning VND271.4 trillion (nearly $11.3 billion) in revenue, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

The number of international visitors increased by 68.3 per cent over the same period in 2023, statistics showed. South Korea remained the largest foreign tourist source with 1.6 million arrivals, accounting for 25.8 per cent of the total international arrivals. It was followed by China, Taiwan, the US and Japan.

Many prestigious international organisations and media companies have highlighted Vietnam as an attractive tourist destination. UK newspaper The Independent in July 2023 hailed Vietnam as the most coveted tourist destination in Southeast Asia, saying it is one of the top choices for British travellers thanks to its diverse natural beauty, alongside rich historical and cultural heritages as well as culinary cultures unique to each locality.

The Traveldudes site introduces Vietnam as an impressive destination for those who like adventure travel, including scuba diving. Scuba diving in Vietnam is a great experience because of the rich underwater landscape and thousands of kilometres of coastline.

According to travel agencies, the potential of Vietnam’s tourists industry is big, but the country is lacking a national brand marketing mindset at a strategic level, and there is no uniformity in brand communication, leading to a vague picture with thousands of components with different values. Current marketing strategies are not focused on the audiences they should be targeting, and there is no clear analysis of how effective they are.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said, “International arrivals to Vietnam have not met expectations because some of Vietnam’s traditional key tourism markets which resumed operations late after the pandemic have not fully recovered.”

“Besides, the country faces difficulties in connecting and exploiting new and potential markets, while we have been slow to resume international flights,” Hung said.

Travel companies have said that one of the priority tasks is to change the way Vietnam markets the national tourism brand, and to take creative, breakthrough, synchronous, and effective measures to ensure the message reaches its target markets.

“It is necessary to position the national tourism brand for targeted travellers. The country needs to identify the key value and characteristics of the tourism brand and then create a unified and consistent message for specific target holidaymakers,” said Pham Ha, founder and CEO of LuxGroup, a luxury travel and tourism company and cruise operator.

“Management authorities, localities, and travel agencies should focus on small communications campaigns with flexible content through different media channels, targeting each customer group,” he said.

“Determining suitable communication channels for each targeted customer also contributes to the success of tourism products. In the digital transformation era, we can take advantage of social networks, such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to approach travellers in different markets. We can encourage the public to become active promoters of the Vietnamese tourism brand,” Ha said.

An example of the efficiency of using social networks and public figures in promoting a national tourism brand is the South Korean model and actor Jung Il Woo’s trip to Vietnam.

During his time in Vietnam, he uploaded photos of his trips to different places and typical local foods to Instagram. In Hanoi, he detailed his experiences trying Vietnamese beef pho, ca phe sua da (iced coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk), and local beer to the 3.4 million followers on his Instagram page.

Then he posted another photo titled 'Meanwhile in Sapa'. Sapa is a popular tourist town in Lao Cai province, approximately 300 kilometres from Hanoi.

He also uploaded photos of the coffee shops and street food eateries that he visited in the city, attracting the attention of both Vietnamese and international fans.

In February, Soobin and Beomgyu of K-pop boy band Tomorrow X Together visited Phu Quoc Island during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Since the beginning of 2023, many famous Korean actors and singers have been travelling to Khanh Hoa. Images of green resorts, attractive meals, and interesting experiences posted by Korean celebrities on websites have helped to promote Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa, increasing its attraction to Korean tourists.

According to statistics from Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism, an estimated 130,000 Koreans visited Khanh Hoa in July last year. Since the beginning of 2023, the province has welcomed about 530,000 Korean visitors, accounting for more than 53.1 per cent of the province's international arrivals.

“Applying these solutions will help Vietnam build an effective tourism brand marketing strategy, delivering measurable results and enhancing its appeal in the international market,” Ha said.

Vietnamese tourists embracing sustainable tourism Sustainable travel is gaining traction as 96 per cent of Vietnamese travellers confirm that sustainable travel is important to them, according to the Sustainable Travel Report 2024 by Booking.com.

Mixed fortunes for holiday break tourism While overland domestic tourism performed well during the April 30-May 1 holiday, traditional Vietnamese beach resorts saw relatively low numbers as more people flocked abroad.

Travel for the future Greening tourism and prioritising sustainable experiences is helping to preserve the environment and tourist resources for the next generation.

Expected trendS for wellness tourism Wellness tourism globally is now worth $651 billion annually and has a forecasted average annual expenditure growth of over 16 per cent until 2027. The sector provides sustainable benefits to both local regional and urban economies as well as improving the visitors’ mental, physical, and emotional wellbeing. The Global Wellness Institute shares the top trends for wellness tourism this year for travellers to better select their destinations worldwide.

Addressing the soft skills gap in the tourism and hospitality industry A total of 200 students in Hanoi will be trained in tourism and hotel skills through the Lifelong Learning project, which will take place from May 8 -11.