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Dec 04, 2018 / 14:10

Why few foreign visitors return to Vietnam?

According to Joe, an Australian tourist, Thailand is more attractive than Vietnam when there are thousands of high-end resorts near the sea shore that make people want to return.

VnExpress has named a number of reasons why few foreign visitors return to Vietnam, citing some of travelers’ feedbacks.

According to the Asia-Pacific Tourism Association, just 10-40% of tourists go back to Vietnam, while the rate is 80% in Thailand.

 
Da Nang city, Vietnam.
Da Nang city, Vietnam.
Jorn – a Norwegian tourist said, although he is impressed with Vietnam because of cheap, good food, and diverse culture, he is not considering returning to Vietnam any time soon because of the rather frequent tourist scams. 
Typically, he and his girlfriend had to pay an additional of VND60,000 (US$2.5) each for a bus ride instead of VND40,000 (US$1.7), the regular amount paid by Vietnamese. 
Meanwhile, according to Pile, a SCMP journalist, theft, traffic congestion, poor food hygiene, rude taxi drivers are the other reasons for foreign guests not wanting to come back to the country. In his writings on Quora, Joe Bird, an Australian tourist, pointed out other reasons including Vietnam not being an international transshipment and visa procedure.
Vu The Binh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, said tourism in Vietnam relies mainly on discovering and trekking instead of resort and shopping, and if the trip is not satisfactory, they will not return. 
He said that if the service and advertising were right, Vietnam can still attract customers without paying attention whether tourists return or not in the next three to five years.
However, in the long run, when the attractions in Vietnam are no longer new to be discovered, (Meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions) MICE and shopping should replace. Vietnam resort tourism has great potential due to beautiful beaches.
According to Binh, it’s important to design customized tour packages if Vietnam want visitors to return, besides MICE to compete with other countries in the region.