Tourists pose for a photo on the top of Fansipan Mountain in Lao Cai before the second outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Hanoi (VNA) – COVID-19 pandemic has changed the habit and thought of tourists around the world. Recent surveys by independent organisations revealed that their behaviours and choices have changed in an unpredictable manner after the pandemic broke out.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic like a nuclear bomb has stricken the tourism sector around the world, including in Vietnam.
Particularly, the new outbreak in the central city of Da Nang from July 25 has pushed the ‘recovering’ tourism sector into another crisis. Since then, tourists’ habits and their way of thinking have changed in a predictable manner.
Surveys by some independent organisations on the lives of people under the effect of COVID-19 pandemic showed surprised things. Changes of the society have resulted in travellers’ behaviours and choices.
Fun from “old things”
The happiness from vacations has no longer been counted with tours’ distance. In 2020, a fundamental change has been seen in the Vietnamese tourism sector when the majority of international tours have been cancelled.
However, the closing of the tours has opened a new door for Vietnamese travellers to have a chance to explore and experience interesting destinations inside the country.
A survey by Booking.com, a world leading online tourism website, showed that from June to August this year, the average distance of a tour of Vietnamese tourists fell by 33 percent over the same time last year.
But the figure was still higher than the average in the world at 63 percent. Last year, Vietnamese travellers moved about 932km for each hotel booking, but the distance dropped to 629km in the same time this year.
Domestic tourism has enjoyed the highest ever rise with domestic tours accounting for 96 percent of the total tours taken by Vietnamese tourists from June 1 to August 31, 2020. The ratio was about 52 percent in the same period of 2019.
Vietnamese tourists tend to choose close-to-the-nature destinations (Photo: VietnamPlus)Experts held that over the years, travelling trends of Vietnamese people has changed continuously. Many has switched their hobby from far-away destinations to nearby localities.
On their journey to explore their homeland, many have chosen untouched places such as beaches and coastal localities. Cam Ranh, Thanh Hoa, Cua Lo, Sam Son and Quy Nhon are becoming new “pearls’ of Vietnamese tourism.
Although the little-known destinations are becoming hot trends, the already-famous destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Vung Tau, Da Nang and Da Lat have still been on top lists of booking through Booking.com between June and August.
Director of Booking.com in Vietnam Anthony Lu said that in the unprecedented period now, it is good to see that Vietnamese people’s love for travelling remains the same despite the impacts of the pandemic.
Both Vietnamese and foreign people in Vietnam have prepared their tours after the situation is better regardless the means of travelling.
A corner of Van Hoi Lagoon (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Positive signals in domestic market
About 50 percent of more than 1,000 interviewed people said that they are willing to take a trip in the next four months, according to a survey by the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) in collaboration with VnExpress e-newspaper.
However, the willingness went along with more caution compared to the previous survey conducted in May.
Head of the TAB Secretariat Hoang Nhan Chinh said that travelling demand of people has risen with more than 71 percent of surveyed people choosing to travel by air and 20 percent by their private vehicles.
Notably, along with priority in health safety (31 percent) and security (26 percent), this year, the financial capacity (33 percent) was among major factors greatly affecting people’s travelling plan. The COVID-19 pandemic has made many families more difficult in financial capacity.
Up to 87 percent of the asked people said that they choose direct discount of service prices to tour prices, which suggested that travel firms and aviation companies should work together to reduce tours’ prices.
Sapa is still a favourite destinations for tourists (Photo: VietnamPlus)Particularly, the COVID-19 pandemic has strongly affected the online shopping habit of consumers. Currently, tourists book tours themselves (40 percent against 29 percent in the previous survey), and keep booking though online websites.
The situation urges travel firms to switch their way of approaching customers from direct to online through digital platform.
A survey by the TAB also showed similar results with that by Booking.com. The demand for sea vacation is still high at 62 percent, while the demand to travel to mountains rises to 37 percent, and natural sites to 48 percent. Nearly 80 percent of interviewed people choose to travel with their family and friends.
Up to 52 percent of tourists are willing to buy travel insurance.
According to Chinh, the surveys’ results have helped management agencies, localities and enterprises get better understanding on their customers, thus building more suitable tourism products and conduct more effective promotions./.
