TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN VIETNAM

Travel and Tourism - Vietnam
Euromonitor International : Country Market Insight
April 2010
Travel And Tourism Vietnam
List of Contents and Tables
TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN VIETNAM..................................................................................... 1
Executive Summary..............................................................................................................................1
Still Faced With Inflation and Fuel Price Growth..............................................................................1
H1n1 Epidemic Affects the Tourism Industry All Over the World.......................................................1
More Policies To Attract Tourists......................................................................................................1
More Luxury Hotels Springing Up.....................................................................................................1
Vietnam Tourism Hopes To Recover in 2010.....................................................................................1
Key Trends and Developments...........................................................................................................1
Impact of the Global Recession..........................................................................................................1
Current Impact...............................................................................................................2
Outlook...........................................................................................................................2
Future Impact.................................................................................................................2
H1n1 Flu Pandemic...........................................................................................................................2
Current Impact...............................................................................................................3
Outlook...........................................................................................................................3
Future Impact.................................................................................................................3
Legislative Environment – Vietnam Offers VISA Exemption for Diplomatic Passport and Special
Public Service Passport Holders........................................................................................................3
Current Impact...............................................................................................................3
Outlook...........................................................................................................................4
Future Impact.................................................................................................................4
Inequality Distribution of Hotels Across the Country Poses Problems...............................................4
Current Impact...............................................................................................................4
Outlook...........................................................................................................................5
Future Impact.................................................................................................................5
Homestay and Vietnamese-cuisine-cooking Tours Are Becoming More Popular................................5

Current Impact...............................................................................................................5
Outlook...........................................................................................................................6
Future Impact.................................................................................................................6
Arrivals by Sea Start To Increase Again............................................................................................6
Current Impact...............................................................................................................6
Outlook...........................................................................................................................6
Future Impact.................................................................................................................6
Demand Factors....................................................................................................................................7
Balance of Payments.............................................................................................................................7
Market Indicators.................................................................................................................................7
Table 1 Leave Entitlement: Volume 2005-2009..........................................................................7
Table 2 Holiday Demographic Trends 2004-2009......................................................................8
Table 3 Holiday Takers by Sex 2004-2009.................................................................................8
Table 4 Holiday Takers by Age 2004-2009.................................................................................8
Table 5 Length of Domestic Trips: 2004-2009...........................................................................8
Table 6 Length of Outbound Departures: 2004-2009..................................................................8
Table 7 Seasonality of Trips 2005-2009......................................................................................9
Market Data..........................................................................................................................................9
Table 8 Balance of Tourism Payments: Value 2004-2009..........................................................9
Definitions..............................................................................................................................................9
Tourism Parameters........................................................................................................................10
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Arrivals.........................................................................................................................10
Departures....................................................................................................................10
Leisure..........................................................................................................................10
Business.......................................................................................................................11
MICE............................................................................................................................11
Incoming tourist receipts..............................................................................................11

Outgoing tourism expenditure.....................................................................................11
Domestic tourists..........................................................................................................11
Domestic trips..............................................................................................................11
Domestic tourist expenditure.......................................................................................11
Spa target market.........................................................................................................12
Holiday takers..............................................................................................................12
Tourism spending.........................................................................................................12
Method of Payment......................................................................................................12
Travel Accommodation....................................................................................................................13
Campsites.....................................................................................................................13
Chalets..........................................................................................................................13
Guesthouses.................................................................................................................13
Hostels..........................................................................................................................13
Hotels...........................................................................................................................13
Motels...........................................................................................................................13
Private accommodation................................................................................................13
Self-catering apartments..............................................................................................13
Other.............................................................................................................................13
Hotel Price Platforms...................................................................................................................... 14
Transportation................................................................................................................................. 15
Car Rental.......................................................................................................................................16
Sectors..........................................................................................................................16
Location.......................................................................................................................17
Transactions.................................................................................................................17
Travel Retail.................................................................................................................................... 17
Travel retail product breakdowns................................................................................18
By destination..............................................................................................................18
Travel Retail Online Sales...............................................................................................................19
Internet sales................................................................................................................19
Tourist Attractions...........................................................................................................................19

Health and Wellness........................................................................................................................20
Internet Sales...................................................................................................................................20
Direct suppliers............................................................................................................21
Intermediaries...............................................................................................................21
Summary 1 Research Sources....................................................................................................21
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TRAVEL AND TOURISM IN VIETNAM
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Still Faced With Inflation and Fuel Price Growth
Vietnam is expected to face big problems of inflation in 2009. The government has also continually made many
changes in the fuel price, causing it to fluctuate during the first half of 2009. Vietnamese people have tightened
their purse strings and only spend money on the essentials, hindering travel and tourism. Therefore, all aspects
of Vietnam tourism including arrivals and departures in the year 2009 have declined slightly compared with
2008.
H1n1 Epidemic Affects the Tourism Industry All Over the World
In 2009, Swine flu (H1N1),which started in Mexico and quickly spread all over the world mostly by means of
tourism, caused a great deal of damage to the tourism industry, not only in Vietnam, but in every country in the
world. Airports have started strict security checks whereby every tourist has to go through a temperature check
before being able to board. People have also cut back on travelling for fear of catching H1N1, reducing the
number of tourists.
More Policies To Attract Tourists
The government has implemented several initiatives to attract more tourists to Vietnam, such as hotels (mostly
luxury hotels) and tourist agents all over the country offering lower prices. Some leading travel agencies such as
SaigonTourist and Vietravel have reduced their prices by up to 30% for tours to major tourist destinations in
Vietnam. Hotels and travel agencies have also increased the service quality such as room service, car rental, and
airport transfers. Some provinces are chosen to host festivals like the sea festival at Nha Trang, fruits festival at
Can Tho, and the Mekong festival. These festivals last a few days and there are a lot of activities like parades,
concerts and exhibitions to attract more tourists. These are traditional festivals but they were previously on a

small scale and celebrated only by locals. Since 2005, the government has made them into big events spanning
several days, with a lot of activities to attract more tourists. Although they seemed to be fascinating for the
tourists initially, the festivals just repeat themselves every year offering nothing new and many tourists feel that
the festivals are becoming too commercial and have lost their spirit. This is the reason why the number of
tourists drawn to these festivals is declining every year.
More Luxury Hotels Springing Up
Many international corporations have recognized the promising tourism business in Vietnam and decided to
invest. Many luxury hotels are being built and existing ones are going through renovation. Vietnam’s first six-
star hotel is being built in Vinperland, Nha Trang and is said to go into business at the end of 2010. However,
there tends to be a mismatch in locations of luxury hotels. Tourists prefer travelling to mountainous and quiet
areas such as the highlands, Sapa, and the countryside, but the hotel rooms in these areas are often all booked
well in advance.
Vietnam Tourism Hopes To Recover in 2010
With good medical attention, most H1N1 swine flu cases took one week to recover. According to the WHO,
travelling restrictions are not necessary. In 2010, the H1N1 epidemic will have been controlled and the global
financial crisis should begin to lessen. Travel and tourism will recover and tourists will come back to Vietnam,
putting the industry in a good position to gain further revenues in the longer term.
KEY TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENTS
Impact of the Global Recession
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In 2008, the world experienced a financial crisis that had a great impact on every country, including Vietnam. It
continued to have an effect in 2009. Prices kept getting more expensive, especially petrol kept rising. Since the
beginning of the year 2009, the Vietnamese government has adjusted the price of petrol nine times; only one of
which was a decrease. With every adjustment, the price of petrol rose about VND500 per litre. Especially on 1
July 2009, the price of petrol rose from VND11,000 per litre to VND14,500 per litre (32% increase).
This made people’s budgets smaller as salaries stayed the same. Consumer thought hard before buying anything;
let alone travelling. Even though there have been many promotional campaigns such as reducing prices of plane
tickets, hotels and tours, travel and tourism in Vietnam slowed down regardless.

Current Impact
The global recession only made its presence felt on Vietnam’s tourism and travel industry during the first half of
the year 2009 because after that, swine flu broke out and “stole all the limelight”. Due to the global financial
crisis, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Vietnam has declined rapidly by about 70% (according to the
Investment Report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam).
Inflation is predicted to reach approximately 7% (about half that of 2008). However, GDP growth for Vietnam
in the year 2009 is predicted to be at about 5.5% (decrease of one percentage point compared to 2008) but still
positive, which shows Vietnam’s economy is gradually recovering from the crisis. Luxury hotels may suffer the
most from the recession since people resort to much less luxury or budget hotels. Value sales of Jetstar, the only
low lost carrier in Vietnam, also increased by 24% for the first six months of 2009. This means that people
prefer low cost carriers during this hard time. Vietnam Airlines, however, did not do so well. Because Jetstar has
“stolen” tourists from Vietnam Airlines, the sales of the latter decreased around 12% over the first six months of
2009. Moreover, Indochina, the first private airline in Vietnam, has been in debt since the beginning of the
review period; its sales declining rapidly, by nearly 40%.
Outlook
During the last half of the year 2009, the impact of the global recession and swine flu died down. Prices of
goods and services started to stabilise thanks to Vietnam government’s policies. People’s pockets are growing
and sales are increasing again. IMF (International Monetary Fund) said that the global recession was coming to
an end but many countries were still facing the aftermath of it and needed quite a long time to completely
recover. Economists also said that the financial crisis in many developed countries such as the US had stopped
by this time. It is predicted that Vietnam’s economy will completely recover by June 2010.
Future Impact
Along with the recovery of the economy, Vietnam’s travel and tourism industry will gradually increase as
tourism is the economic indicator of Vietnam and generates a large percentage in GDP. It is predicted that
Vietnam’s GDP in 2010 will grow at 6.5% and continue to grow positively until 2014. People will start to travel
more, especially at the time of 2010’s Lunar New Year (mid-February).
However, the prices of rooms will not increase or will only increase slightly because they do not want the
tourists to be put off by such a sudden increase. If prices rise suddenly, tourists may opt to stay at budget hotels.
Transportation is important to the travel and tourism industry and there are only a few airlines in Vietnam.
Therefore, their sales will start to go up and soon will recover completely.

H1n1 Flu Pandemic
H1N1 (also called Swine flu) is a new kind of virus that has never before been circulated among humans. Swine
flu started in Mexico in March 2009 and quickly spread to other countries and continents as people travelled. On
11 June 2009, the World Health Organization (WTO) announced Swine flu as phase 6 (which means it is
considered a pandemic). Until 4 October, according to WTO’s update report number 69 about H1N1, there have
been 375,000 cases of Swine flu and 4,500 deaths all over the world. As for Vietnam, according to the statistics,
there have been over 5,000 cases with six deaths. Research is being taken in order to find a vaccine for Swine
flu but in the mean time, every country and person has to follow some safety instructions to reduce the spread of
the pandemic.
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Current Impact
The outbreak of H1N1 has had a great impact on the tourism industry, not only of Vietnam but other countries
as well. Even though the WTO has confirmed that travel restrictions are not necessary, people are still restrained
from travelling as a means of safety. Vietnamese tend to worry a lot about small problems. Therefore, when
Swine Flu broke out, it caused panic everywhere. People went everywhere with masks; even in offices and
schools. If someone had a mild cold and coughed, people would assume that he/she had Swine Flu and took that
person to the hospital for medical isolation. Vietnamese were even scared of foreign tourists for they thought
that international tourists were the ones who brought the Pandemic to Vietnam in the first place. In Vietnam, at
the airports, both domestic and international tourists have to go through screenings to detect infections. Many
schools and universities have been temporarily closed. Vietnam’s tourism has experienced a dramatic decline in
the number of arrivals.
Towards the second half of 2009, all the panics have died down and the number of newly-infected cases has
reduced. People start packing their bags and going on vacation again, especially when Christmas drew near.
Outlook
By the year 2010, optimistically Swine Flu will have been controllable. As for Vietnam, the Lunar New Year is
the time that many international tourists usually come to experience the atmosphere of Vietnam’s New Year
with streets decorated with beautiful flowers and the festivals. Therefore, this is a good time for the Vietnam
government to implement initiatives to attract more tourists. It is predicted that Vietnam travel and tourism will

have completely recovered by June 2010. Hopefully in the year 2010, there will be no more pandemics or any
other diseases and Vietnam’s travel and tourism industry will recover and develop.
Future Impact
Since Swine Flu is considered not so dangerous, tourists do not have to go through screening to detect infection
at the airport or take their temperature before checking into a hotel. The sales of tours, hotel rooms and airline
tickets will increase slightly and be back to normal in 2010. What Vietnam needs now is the right policies to
attract more tourists and to advertise the beauty of the country to tourists all around the world. Vietnam has a
stable political background, beautiful scenery, and a wide variety of cuisine. With all those potentials, travel and
tourism will grow positively over the forecast period.
Legislative Environment – Vietnam Offers VISA Exemption for Diplomatic
Passport and Special Public Service Passport Holders
Following the trend of integration and expansion of international cooperation, the Vietnam government has also
signed 57 agreements on visa exemption with 55 countries; 54 of which are in force. According to those
agreements, diplomatic passport and special public service passport holders coming from those 55 countries are
allowed to stay in Vietnam for up to 90 days.
Furthermore, during summer vacation ( from 15 May 2009 to 30 September 2009), Vietnam offers free visa fees
for tourists going on holiday, provided by some particular travel agencies. According to this promotional
campaign, named “Impression of Vietnam” to attract tourists, tourists going on tours will be given visas for free
at the terminals and stamped “GRATIS”.
This is an act of helping travel and tourism in the situation of recession and pandemic. The government hopes
that this policy will help attract more tourists since they do not need to wait at the check-in desks for such a long
time like before.
Current Impact
Since Swine Flu was still all over the news and causing panic everywhere in Vietnam, Vietnam government’s
promotional campaign was a smart step to attract more tourists to save the decreasing industry. And as a result,
more tourists came to Vietnam during summer vacation than any other time of the year.
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The act of providing free visa for diplomatic passports and special public service passports was a good way to

develop business tourism (or MICE- Meeting Incentive Convention Exhibition) which has become a promising
area in many other countries in recent years. MICE tourists not only stay in luxury hotels but also spend more
on shopping and travelling to many other places in the country. Towards the end of the review period, Vietnam
government has taken steps to attract more MICE tourists. As a result, during the first six months of the year
2009, the number of business arrivals increased by 30% (MICE increased by 35%). However, because of the
Swine Flu Pandemic, the number has gone down dramatically for the whole of 2009.
Outlook
Vietnamese government is taking steps to sign more agreements on free visas for diplomatic passport and
special public service passport holders with many countries across Europe and also the US. These agreements
will come into effect in 2010.
With the tendency of international trade and cooperation, Vietnam’s government will issue more free visas to
tourists coming from some countries in Europe and from the US. This needs a lot of consideration as the more
free visas are given, the more risks that the country faces in terms of illegal migrants. Vietnam’s legislative
system still has some loopholes that illegal immigrants can exploit. Since 2008, Vietnam has faced illegal
immigrants mostly from some African and Asian countries coming to Vietnam to commit fraud , launder
money, or withdraw money with fake credit cards. This is a very serious problem that the Vietnam government
still cannot solve.
Future Impact
Due to the policies of giving free visas for diplomatic passports and special public service passport holders,
Vietnam is going to establish good relationships with many countries in the world. This is also an advantage to
develop other industries such as import, export and education.
Vietnam’s emerging inbound origins are the US, Japan, Korea, China and some countries in Asia. Therefore,
Europe is considered a promising market as Europeans travel a lot and spend a lot of money on shopping and
entertainment. With this act of the Vietnam government, hopefully in the near future, the number of European
tourists will increase.
Illegal immigrants cause a lot of damage to the country’s economy and legislative system. Vietnam’s
government is tightening the laws, not giving visas to some suspicious individuals coming from some African
and Asian countries, as well as heavily fining hotels or other accommodation providers for letting illegal
immigrants stay without a visa, expelling immediately illegal immigrants or travellers coming from Vietnam to
commit crimes.

Inequality Distribution of Hotels Across the Country Poses Problems
Along with the development of travel and tourism comes the need for more hotels. Vietnam has a long coastal
line so most of the hotels are concentrated near the beaches and in some big cities such as Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh
City and Da Nang, whereas in some other parts of the country with beautiful scenery in the highlands such as
Sapa, there is a shortage of hotels. This has become a problem, since tourists tended to prefer the mountainous
and quiet areas towards the end of the review period, and there is low supply of hotels there.
Current Impact
Vietnam is still a developing country and agriculture still accounts for a great part of the country’s economy. As
tourists are becoming more aware of the environment, most of them would like to travel to the countryside or
mountainous areas to get away from the busy life of big cities with noise, traffic jams and pollution. Tourists can
experience the beauty of the terraced fields in the Highlands, Mid-lands or the Northern Region in Vietnam.
Mountainous areas are a great part of Vietnam’s varied culture. There are 61 different ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Most of the country’s population is “Kinh” ethnic and live in big cities or plain areas whereas, the smaller part
of the population come from other ethnic groups and live in mountainous areas. They have their own languages
and culture. Many foreign tourists find it fascinating to stay among the ethnic groups and learn about their lives.
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However, the shortage of hotels in mountainous and country areas means that both international and domestic
tourists are unable to stay long. Usually people just come and leave within the day or stay for just a short time.
It is also a very difficult problem because if people build many hotels in those mountainous areas, it will destroy
the natural beauty of it and tamper with the lives of the ethnic groups. But if they do not build hotels in those
areas, Vietnam will lose a lot of tourists. Some travel agencies do offer tours in which tourists can stay and join
the lives of the ethnic people. However, those tours are just for a small number of tourists as there are not
enough places in the villages to accommodate many tourists.
The inequality in distribution of hotels is becoming bigger. In 2009, there were 88 new hotels built in coastal
areas. Meanwhile, there were only five new hotels in mountainous and country areas. The shift of tourists’
preference from big cities to much quieter places causing a shortage in hotels. In high-peak season, like Tet
holiday or summer vacation, all the hotel rooms are booked well in advance while in big cities many of the hotel
rooms are available.

There is also an inequality in distribution of luxury hotels. There are about 31, 5-star hotels in Vietnam in 2009;
21 of which are located in Ha Noi, the capital city and Ho Chi Minh City. There is a shortage of luxury hotels in
other cities; tourists who visit those cities have to stay in mid-sized or budget hotels with old-fashioned rooms
and poor customer service.
Outlook
It is a big regret that Vietnam cannot accommodate tourists for longer in those areas. The beauty of the scenery
is one very distinct advantage that Vietnam has over other countries. It is also a very good way to introduce the
country’s various culture and natural and “untouched” beauty to the world. Vietnam needs to solve the problem
of how to develop tourism in mountainous areas whilst preserving its natural beauty.
Tours to the countryside to experience the lives of Vietnamese farmers are also a really good idea. Tourists can
enjoy the fresh and peaceful air with no noise, traffic jams or worries about work or school and at the same time
experience how farmers work in the fields or harvest crops. Some travel retailers such as SaigonTourist and
Vietravel are organizing some of those tours as an experiment and received a lot of good response from tourists.
Future Impact
The inequality of distribution of hotels among big cities and mountainous areas will remain great in the future as
more hotels are being built in big cities and coastal areas. No one would take the risk of investing in
constructing new hotels in mountainous and country areas for fear they will not be able to gain profits. If this is
the case, Vietnam will lose a large number of tourists and credit.
Currently, more luxury hotels are being built in Da Nang, Nha Trang and some other tourist cities. Therefore, in
the future, hopefully, Vietnam will attract more tourists to Nha Trang, Da Nang and Phu Quoc, etc, the
inequality in distribution in luxury hotels will gradually decrease.
Homestay and Vietnamese-cuisine-cooking Tours Are Becoming More Popular
During the review period, a new kind of tour appeared and immediately became popular among international
tourists: homestay tours. On homestay tours, tourists are invited to stay with a Vietnamese family. The hosts
will show them around the area, explaining Vietnam’s traditions and folklore, as well as taking them to the
markets, buying ingredients and teaching them how to cook some traditional Vietnamese food. Some luxury
hotels also provide the same kind of service and give the tourists a small certificate after finishing the course.
Current Impact
Many international tourists really love Vietnamese food because it is made with fresh materials and ingredients.
In addition, it contains little much fat and is eaten with a lot of vegetables which is very good for the health.

Vietnam’s cuisine is different for each area. Vietnam’s territory is divided into three main regions: the North,
the middle and the South. Each region has a wide variety of cuisine and the same dish can taste differently
depending on which ingredients are used. For example, Vietnamese noodle soup in Ha Noi, Da Nang and Ho
Chi Minh city, taste different.
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Even though the price of homestay tours is often higher than for other types of tourism, the number of tourists
booking this kind of tour increased in the year 2009. However, not many tourist agencies or hotels provide this
kind of tour except for some luxury hotels like Sofitel Metropole Ha Noi, Riverside Resort in Hoi An and
Caravelle.
Homestay tourism appeals to both international and domestic tourists, because it is new and interesting.
Outlook
With the competition from other nearby countries and the fact that tourists are becoming more concerned about
the environment, and travelling combined with learning about the history and culture of the destination country,
homestay tours are a new trend. It is said that the best way to touch people’s heart is through their stomach.
Therefore, this is a very promising business area, and in order to develop it, travel agencies and hotels should
work together to advertise and provide this kind of tour.
Future Impact
In the future, Vietnamese cuisine cookery classes will increase in popularity and attract more tourists, especially
MICE tourists. Local hosts will arrange the interesting classes for their foreign counterparts to experience the
Vietnamese food culture.
Meanwhile, it is expected that the number of tourists going on homestay tours will increase too, so as to
experience the most authentic Vietnamese culture.
Arrivals by Sea Start To Increase Again
With over 3,269 kilometres of coastline, seaport systems and many beautiful beaches from North to South,
Vietnam has every potential to develop tourism. Over the 1999-2002 period, Vietnam’s cruise tourism
developed rapidly, with an average of 200,000 tourists going on luxury cruises every year. Since 2003, the
cruise tourism in Vietnam has decreased due to SARS, Tsunami and Bird Flu. In 2008, the arrivals to Vietnam
by sea started to develop. In 2009, despite the pandemic and economic crisis, the number of tourists coming to

Vietnam on cruises did not appear to decline.
Current Impact
Since the beginning of 2009, Vietnam has greeted many luxury “floating” hotels with about 234,200 tourists
onboard; a slight increase on 2008. Only around 7% of which are business sea arrivals, and the remaining 93%
leisure sea arrivals. On 2 November 2009, the luxury vessel named Costa Classica, came to Vietnam for the first
time. This was also an experimental cruise to make regular cruises fortnightly to Vietnam during the forecast
period. Costa Classica, one of the luxury vessels of Costa Crociere Corp’s fleet, is 200m long and can carry
2,000 tourists and crew. Costa Crociere Corporation, affiliating with SaigonTourist brought two vessels named
Costa Allegra and Costa Marina to Vietnam before April 2009. This is very good news for Vietnam because
Costa Crociere Corp is one of the biggest sea tourism corporations in Europe.
Tourists going on cruises are often elderly people who have a lot of time and money and would like to learn
about Vietnam’s culture and history. Each tourist going on a cruise is said to spend about US$300-400 per day,
which is about 20-30% more than tourists coming by air or land.
Outlook
With the affiliation between SaigonTourist and Costa Crociere Corp, Vietnam will have a regular number of
tourists on cruises in the future. Most tourists coming on Costa Crociere’s vessels are Italian, French, German
and Spanish. Therefore, with well-organized tours, high quality service and the right policies from the
government, Vietnam could attract more tourists from Europe.
Future Impact
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Vietnam’s arrivals will increase in sales terms in accordance with its potential and soon enough will reach the
number of tourists attracted in the year 1999-2002. It is expected that in 2010, Vietnam will greet about 240,000
tourists on cruises and the number for 2014 could reach 300,000 tourists, earning a great deal for the sea
transportation industry.
DEMAND FACTORS
Each employee is given 12 paid leave days a year according to Vietnam Labour Code.
For public holiday, there are six special occasions a year. They are New Year (1 January), Tet Holiday (Lunar
New Year, varies according to the lunar calendar), King Hung’s Anniversary (10 March on the lunar calendar),

National day (30 April), International Labour Day (1 May), and Independent Day (2 September).
In 2009, students are given about two weeks holiday for Tet and about eight weeks for summer vacation (rather
than 12 weeks like before). Only about 27.3% of the population are holiday takers, whereas the majority would
stay at home due to the economic crisis and Swine Flu Pandemic. Because during Tet holiday most parents are
only given about a week off, most Vietnamese family would go on domestic trips to Nha Trang, Da Lat, Vung
Tau and Da Nang. During summer vacation, some families go on tours to other nearby countries such as
Singapore (especially at the end of June due to the big sale season), Malaysia, Thailand and China.
Holiday takers seem to be getting younger (the number of holiday takers aged 15-35-years-old has increased
slightly) and the number of females going on vacation has also gone up, which means the women started to
enjoy themselves rather than staying at home taking care of the babies or the home.
Additionally, the number of trips over seven days has increased slightly (by 13% for domestic trips and 6% for
outbound departures), which shows the increasingly high living standards of the Vietnamese. However, the
numbers of trips lasting less than seven days still make up the most part of the trend of holiday takers. This is
because each employee is only given about 12 paid days leave a year and even during the summer holidays
children are sent to extra classes or English classes to prepare for their new school year.
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
In 2009, Vietnam received VND57.5 trillion from arrivals, decreasing 0.4% compared to the year 2008, and
VND39.9 trillion from domestic trips, decreasing 11% from 2008. Vietnamese also spent about VND11.5
trillion on outbound tours, decreasing 15% on 2008. As a result, Vietnam has a surplus of VND46 trillion in
balance of payment in 2009, increasing 6% from 2008. Even though, the income from arrivals decreased, the
expenditure of Vietnamese tourists on outbound tours decreased much more. Therefore, in general, Vietnam’s
balance of payments in the year 2009 increased by 6%. In 2009, due to the global recession, fuel prices
increased making prices of other products increase. With the same amount of money, people can buy fewer
products. Therefore, Vietnamese people travelling abroad shopped less and concentrated more on getting to
know the destination country’s culture and history making the expenditure decrease.
MARKET INDICATORS
Table 1 Leave Entitlement: Volume 2005-2009
number of days
2005 2006 2007 2008
Paid Holiday 12.0 12.0 12.0 12.0

Public Holidays On Working Days 5.0 8.0 9.0 9.0
Public Holidays Not On Working 3.0 5.0 3.0 1.0
Days
Leave Entitlement 20.0 25.0 24.0 22.0
Source: Euromonitor International
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Table 2 Holiday Demographic Trends 2004-2009
% number of people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Holiday Takers 20.2 20.5 22.5 25.0 24.3 27.3
Non-Holiday Takers 79.8 79.5 77.5 75.0 75.7 72.7
Source: Euromonitor International
Note: Holiday takers as % of total population
Table 3 Holiday Takers by Sex 2004-2009
% number of people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Male 67.4 67.4 67.4 67.1 67.0 63.8
Female 32.6 32.6 32.6 32.9 33.0 36.2
Source: Euromonitor International
Note: Sex of national tourists (domestic and outbound)
Table 4 Holiday Takers by Age 2004-2009
% number of people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
0-14 1.2 1.3 1.2 1.0 1.1 0.9
15-24 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.4 7.4
25-34 30.7 30.7 30.7 30.8 30.9 31.0
35-49 47.4 47.4 47.5 47.5 47.5 47.5
50-64 12.4 12.3 12.3 12.3 12.0 12.1

Over 65 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.1
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Euromonitor International
Notes: Age of national tourists (domestic and outbound)
Table 5 Length of Domestic Trips: 2004-2009
'000 trips
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
7 Days 274.9 288.2 298.9 311.0 319.3 361.7
4-7 Days 2,016.7 2,272.4 2,570.1 2,736.0 2,838.8 2,957.3
0-3 Days 10,736.3 11,939.4 14,630.9 16,153.0 17,577.9 17,956.8
Total 13,027.9 14,500.0 17,500.0 19,200.0 20,736.0 21,275.8
Source: Euromonitor International
Table 6 Length of Outbound Departures: 2004-2009
'000 people
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Over 7 Days 21.6 23.8 26.0 31.1 40.5 43.1
4-7 Days 707.9 760.7 807.2 977.2 1,017.1 1,061.7
0-3 Days 170.6 175.5 178.6 205.9 234.2 242.5
Total 900.0 960.0 1,011.8 1,214.2 1,291.8 1,347.3
Source: Euromonitor International
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Euromonitor International Page 8