International tourism is steadily gaining momentum, while Southeast Asia (SEA) remains stable n in October 2023, with a minor 1.8% increase in international visitors from 6,193,292 to 6,305,273 (excluding Malaysia). Catch up more details about SEA tourism with the reading below!

During the first 9 months of 2023, as per the recent updates from UNWTO, global tourism is on a robust rebound, achieving 87% of pre-pandemic levels, totaling 975 million international arrivals. Despite progress, the SEA region lags behind with a recovery rate of 70%. In this October:

• Thailand maintains its leading position as the top destination for international visitors in the region. There was a slight upswing in tourist arrivals, with a 3.1% increase compared to September. 
• Singapore follows closely in second place, with a 6.7% decrease compared to September. 
• Vietnam has taken over Indonesia’s position and now ranks third, with a modest 5,5% rise in tourist arrivals compared to September in the region.

Additionally, while the Philippines and Cambodia experienced a modest increase, Indonesia went through a slight decrease compared to the previous month. 

Recovery Rate and Tourism Targets

• Cambodia nearly achieves its target, with the highest recovery rate with 99.70%.
• Singapore maintains its position in second place with a recovery rate of 73.86%, while Indonesia secures the third spot with a recovery rate of 72.67%. 
• Vietnam has attributed an adjusted goal shifting from 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 visitors. 
• The other countries experienced a slight upturn when measured against the same period in 2019.

HIGHLIGHTS

Top 3 SEA Tourism Destinations with the Highest Number of International Visitors in October 2023

• Thailand: 2,197,017 international visitors, a 3.1% increase compared to September 2023
• Singapore: 1,130,000 international visitors, a 6.7% decrease compared to September 2023
• Vietnam: 1,112,526 international visitors, a 5.5% increase compared to September 2023, pushing Indonesia out of the top three.

Recovery Rate

• Cambodia achieved a recovery rate of 99.70%
• Singapore achieved a recovery rate of 73.86%
• Vietnam achieved a recovery rate of 72.67%.

Aviation

1. Domestic Landscape

The Hanoi (HAN) to Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) route remains the premier choice, experiencing a noteworthy 10% surge compared to the previous month in a total of 826,817 seats. 

Conversely, other domestic routes in the region witnessed a decline in demand. Following the HAN-SGN route is the Jakarta (CGK) to Kota Makassar (UPG) route with 537,670 seats, and to Bali with 492,881 seats.

2. International Landscape

Singapore maintains its prominence as a key hub in SEA tourism, with seven out of the top ten international routes in the region either starting or ending there. Accordingly, the routes from Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Bangkok to Singapore remain the busiest international routes in the region, despite a slight decrease compared to the previous month.

In the latest forecast from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), it is said that global airline profits will be higher than originally forecast. The number of people taking flights will be close to pre-pandemic levels.

According to IATA, about 4.35 billion passengers are expected to fly this year, close to the record 4.54 billion people in 2019.

In addition, the association also estimates that in 2023, net profits will reach 9.8 billion USD – double the 4.7 billion USD figure given in December 2022. The main reason is China lifting restrictions to control the pandemic.

Willie Walsh, General Director of IATA said: “Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations.” Although the net profit was $9.8 billion, a large number, considering the industry’s revenue of $800 billion, the net profit margin here is only 1.2%. “After deep COVID-19 losses, even a net profit margin of 1.2 percent is something to celebrate,” he said.

Previously, aviation analytics firm Cirium released a new analysis showing passenger traffic by global airlines could surpass 2019 levels before the end of the year. In addition, the International Aviation Group (IAG) recently said it expects capacity to reach about 97% of 2019 levels for the whole of 2023.

However, despite the recovery of the aviation industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, many factors are considered to have an impact on IATA’s forecast such as fuel prices, aircraft shortages, and labor shortages which make air tickets more expensive.

Summer, the peak season of the year in Vietnam, has arrived. To breakthrough in the number of tourists and revenue during this time, destinations and businesses need to grasp all key information about tourists, the end-users in a tourism product/service.

Though this is the peak season for Vietnamese domestic tourists, should we equate an approach strategy to attract them? How was each gen different and similar when traveling in the summer of 2022? Let’s find out through Outbox’s study.

Differences among 3 Vietnamese gens in domestic travel

Time to travel

Summer is the peak season, when students have a long vacation. Therefore, many families take the chance to travel with their children.

According to statistics from the National Administration of Tourism, Vietnam domestic tourism boomed last summer. From May to August, the number of Vietnamese domestic tourists reached more than 43 million, 53.2% higher than the same period in 2019.

According to an Outbox survey, about 60% of travelers said they made the trip between May and August 2022. However, tourists at each age group traveled at different times. Specifically, gen Z (18-25 years old) traveled the most in both June and July. Meanwhile, tourists from 26-45 years old (gen Y) preferred to take a trip in June. The group of over 46 (gen X) traveled extremely much in July. They also had the highest demand for summer trips compared to the other two age groups, according to the survey.

Favorite destination

Due to the high temperature of summer, island destinations such as Danang, Phu Quoc, Vung Tau or Ha Long became popular. In addition, there was a famous destination with cool weather all year round, Dalat. The city also led the top destinations chosen by Vietnamese domestic tourists for the summer of 2022.

Gen X especially liked Dalat. The destination increasingly offers pretty homestays and dining places, located among majestic mountains, and attracts many young tourists.

Gen Y expressed great love for Danang, the city of bridges and dubbed as a livable city in Vietnam. Gen X preferred to visit and relax on Phu Quoc island.

Type of travel

In 2022, Vietnamese domestic tourists taking self-guided trips increased significantly compared to the previous year. The development of technology, social media, review sites, influencers, etc. is said to encourage tourists to freely discover the world.

Among tourists who took self-guided tours with their families, gen X accounted for the highest proportion. If the companion is a group of friends or colleagues, gen Z made up the most. This age group also preferred solo travel the most. As for package tours, gen X accounted for the largest proportion, approximately equal to the total proportion of the other two groups.

Booking channel

According to Outbox’s survey, more than 80% of Vietnamese tourists over 46 y.o. chose to book directly through the provider’s website and hotline. Besides these two channels, gen Z and gen Y also preferred to book directly through the provider’s social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, etc. That’s why providers should invest a lot in building websites, social media as well as call centers. Convenience, speed with complete information will make tourists decide to book services more quickly.

Type of accommodation

All 3 surveyed age groups preferred to stay in mid-range hotels (3-star), but they still had different preferences in choosing accommodation when traveling. Specifically, gen X accounted for the largest proportion in the mid-range hotel and resort segment. The luxury hotel (4- to 5-star) segment was the most chosen by gen Y.

Gen Z liked homestay the most. This partly explains why they traveled to Dalat a lot last year, where many unique homestays are located. As they are students or newbie workers, the majority of this gen preferred cheaper accommodation than the other groups.

Budget

According to the survey, many Vietnamese domestic tourists increased their budget for travel in 2022. With different average income, 3 gens also have different budgets for tourism. In general, older travelers spent more for travel.

Most of gen X spent from 5-15 million VND for a trip. Gen Y spent from 3-10 million, while gen Z spent from 1-7 million VND per trip. The different choice of destinations, type of travel or accommodation can explain this.

Conclusion

Above are some big differences among Vietnamese domestic tourists of different age groups according to Outbox’s survey results. Not only are they different, they are also having unobservable changes in tastes, behaviors and psychology. Businesses and destinations need to care more about the journey and profile of visitors and be more proactive in order to successfully reach them.

 

Dubai’s ruler announced new plans to develop the man-made island of Palm Jebel Ali, double the size of the famous island Palm Jumeirah.

The island is part of a project to build artificial islands shaped like palm trees. The Palm Islands, consisting of three islands Palm Jumeirah, Palm Jebel Ali, and Palm Deira, an international project, is directed by Nakheel Group.

Previously, construction of Palm Jumeirah began in 2001, and Palm Jebel Ali in 2002. In 2004, Nakheel announced plans to build the final island. A year later, Palm Deira started construction.

Palm Jumeirah was completed in 2007 and had its first residents. Today, Palm Jumeirah is one of the most sought-after areas in Dubai and a favorite among Russians who flocked to the emirate after the conflict in Ukraine. This contributes to increasing the attractiveness of the real estate market here.

In 2022, the former Palm Deira Islands and later the Deira Islands were renamed the Dubai Islands. At the same time, the Dubai Islands project was transferred to Nakheel Group in November with a grant of up to $4.63 billion.

While the construction of Palm Jebel Ali and Palm Deira was underway, the financial crisis (2007-2008) happened; thus, it was delayed. Recently, Dubai’s ruler has announced new plans to develop the island of Palm Jebel Ali.

According to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, upon Palm Jebel Ali’s completion, visitors will enjoy more than 80 hotels and resorts offering a beautiful travel experience here.

The Japanese government is trying to attract wealthy tourists to the country by implementing several initiatives.

Although accounting for only 0.9% of the total number of tourists to Japan in 2019, the super-rich foreign travelers contributed up to 11.5% of the total spending of international tourists in the country. Therefore, in order to attract more and more wealthy tourists, and encourage them to visit the country more often, the Japanese government has launched a series of initiatives to compete with other popular destinations for wealthy travelers in Asia like Singapore or Dubai,…

One of the latest initiatives is the reduction of administrative procedures, by cutting the red tape which deters last-minute arrivals of private jets and superyachts. According to Japan’s Transport Ministry, foreign-registered private jets can send notices within three days of landing, instead of 10 days like before. In addition, the Ministry will also implement an emergency landing registration system within 24 hours for special situations.

The Japanese government says the simplification of airport vehicle control regulations, especially for foreign private jets, is part of an overall effort to attract tourists and boost spending. Meanwhile, tour operators say the new initiative could attract the super-rich from across the Asia-Pacific region to Japan.

The high-end tourism sector in Japan is booming with a series of ultra-luxury hotels having opened, such as Bvlgari in Tokyo or Sowaka in Kyoto. However, Japan still does not have much tourism infrastructure that can meet the needs of super-rich foreign travelers, such as luxury airport lounges, concierge services, transportation services, which is familiar in tourist paradises such as Monaco, Dubai or Aspen (USA).

As a result, the Japanese government is working with local agencies to strengthen security regulations, amenities and services for international passengers. This includes improving airport infrastructure, training staff and improving service quality. Moreover, the Japanese government has also promoted cooperation with international airlines to create new direct routes to Japan from important destinations around the world in order to reduce travel time and attract more tourists to this country.

The simplification of the landing regulations for foreign private jets is an important step by the Japanese government in promoting the tourism industry and strengthening international relations. This not only creates favorable conditions for international visitors, but also contributes to the economic development of the country after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) has often been listed in the top famous tourist attractions and island destinations in Vietnam. However, the island is gradually losing its attractiveness for many reasons.

Phu Quoc was once among the top 3 most popular destinations for domestic tourists according to the Q4/2022 survey of Outbox. But in Q1/2023, the island only ranked 10th in the list of domestic destinations chosen by Vietnamese tourists. Most recently, during the 5-day holiday, although being expected, Phu Quoc just received more than 112,000 visitors, down 11.5% over the same period last year. Total revenue from tourism reached about VND 132 billion, down 24% over the same period. Phu Quoc loses its position because of the lack of some important factors affecting tourists’ travel decisions.

Lately, survey results from Outbox’s Vietnam Travel Market Tracker in Q1 2023 have shown the factors affecting the decision to choose a domestic destination of Vietnamese tourists, including budget, time, variety of activities, trendy destination, and information about the destination. What are the strengths of Phu Quoc and why is it increasingly losing its beautiful image?

 

Strengths making Phu Quoc popular

According to a report of the Department of Tourism, in 2022, Phu Quoc welcomed more than 4.7 million visitors, up 25% compared to the target.

Trendy destination

Phu Quoc is the largest island in Vietnam, and also the first island of the country to become an island city (from 2021). Phu Quoc includes dozens of large and small islands. It has 150 km of coastline, 14 beautiful beaches, mild climate, diverse coral reefs, rich marine life, and more.

Phu Quoc was honored in many magazines such as Travel+Leisure, TIME, Conde Nast Traveler,… and won prestigious awards in the tourism industry such as “World’s Leading Nature Island Destination” award at the World Travel Awards 2022,… Reputation from prestigious magazines and awards has contributed significantly to the island’s fame.

Besides, Phu Quoc also attracts many large corporations (Marriott, Sun Group, Vingroup,…) to invest in luxury and high-class resort, accommodation and entertainment services. Unique projects, the most recent being the Kiss Bridge, are also invested in construction.

Reasonable travel time

Easy accessibility is also a strength of Phu Quoc. Visitors can come here by sea speed boats or airplanes. Currently, there are quite a number of direct flights connecting Phu Quoc with major domestic and international cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok,… in a not too long travel time.

Nevertheless, in recent months, Phu Quoc destination image is increasingly unattractive. Issues such as cost, variety of activities and information about the destination have greatly affected the attractiveness of this destination.

Why is the competitiveness of Phu Quoc tourism decreasing?

High cost

Regardless of the situation or the time, the cost of the trip is always one of the most important factors for most travelers.

Recently, the price of airfare is considered by many to be one of the biggest barriers to Phu Quoc tourism. Sometimes, the return ticket price here was even higher than the cost of a whole trip abroad. As recorded from early to mid-April, round-trip airfares between Hanoi and Phu Quoc ranged from 6 to 10 million VND, higher than the total budget for an overseas trip like Thailand or Malaysia. The Ho Chi Minh City – Phu Quoc route used to cost over 4 million dong. It directly led to a decrease in hotel occupancy as well as an increase in cancellation rates due to high travel costs. About 10 days before the May Day holiday, the airfare was down by about 20-40%, but the situation was still not much better when the majority of tourists had booked the tour in advance and Phu Quoc had not been their plans at that time.

In addition, food costs are also considered expensive in Phu Quoc, sometimes ranging from 700,000 to 2,000,000 VND. Despite a huge seafood source, the price here is even higher than in big cities like Saigon or Hanoi. Some guests complained that instead of fresh seafood, they were served frozen. Many visitors feel being “tricked” because the price is not worth the value and quality of the product. The main reasons given for this are the high cost of renting business premises, many imported ingredients from the mainland, or the cost of pimps.

With a too high budget for the entire trip, Phu Quoc gradually is no longer among the top choice of Vietnamese tourists as before.

Diversity of activities

Visiting Phu Quoc, tourists often mention many attractive water activities such as diving to see coral reefs, walking under the sea, visiting the island by boat,… or amusement parks, and national parks. However, the price of many activities is also quite high, it can be up to 1,500,000 VND/person/turn. It is enough to make many Vietnamese tourists hesitate to experience it.

Nowadays, in the travel itinerary, in addition to leisure activities and new experiences, many tourists are interested in learning about and connecting with the local community. That’s why activities associated with local values ​​should also be focused more in Phu Quoc. This both catches the trend and increases the diversity of activities, such as visiting fish sauce craft villages, exploring the lives of fishermen, etc. Moreover, these activities can support local people. This is one aspect of sustainability, a trend that has emerged in the wake of the pandemic.

Lack of official and reliable information

Phu Quoc has not yet built a reputable official channel, providing diverse information for visitors before going. Searching online, most recommendations are from travel agencies and online travel agencies (OTAs). Many sites do not provide detailed and transparent information, which can confuse visitors.

Phu Quoc will not lose its attractiveness soon if it’s properly exploited. It is extremely important to listen, understand and respond to tourists in order to win their heart again. First of all, it is clear that they want more reasonable trip costs, in terms of transportation, accommodation, F&B, and tourism products. Besides, to know more about their needs, it is necessary to track and analyze their behavior and psychology. Focusing on travelers will be the golden key to bring Phu Quoc tourism back to its heyday.

The COVID-19 pandemic left serious impacts on the tourism and hospitality industry. Recently, many hotels in Ho Chi Minh City have been closed and put up for sale due to a drop in international arrivals and lower-than-expected sales. Many hotel owners need to borrow from banks to do business or rent retail space.

Many large hotels in the city center had to stop operating such as Norfolk, Lavender, Catina Saigon, Rosa Hotel, Le Petit,…

In addition to hotel closures, many hotels are listed for sale or lease on online real estate trading platforms. For example, an 8-story hotel in District 1 is for sale for 138 billion VND (5.8 million USD). This property has a two-year lease for over 400 million VND ($17,000) per month. Or the 15-room Amore Saigon Hotel for rent is about 165 million VND/month ($7,000).

Vietnam tourism is facing many difficulties during the recovery period, especially international tourism. After one year of opening to tourism, the recovery rate of Vietnam international tourism in Q1 was approximately 60%, quite slow compared to the world (80%), but higher than the Asia-Pacific region (54%).

High airfares, a lack of human resources, a limited list of visa-exempt countries, and a short visa-free period also significantly affect the speed of international tourism recovery.

Nguyen Quy Tuan, Senior Director of the Hotel Investment Department APAC, JLL, said that hotels in Vietnam need to update and change products and services to meet the customers’ needs flexibly. In particular, businesses must be flexible in providing a combined experience rather than focusing on just one product or service.

By April 2023, Vietnam’s tourism recorded many positive effects when it welcomed more than 3.7 million international arrivals, equivalent to the total number of international visitors in 2022. This data shows a strong recovery of the tourism industry. According to forecasts, in 1-2 years, key tourism markets can recover to 2019 levels.

There are still many barriers in the tourism real estate market in Vietnam. Although the regulatory interest rate has decreased, investors are still finding it difficult to access new loans and also very cautious in transactions. They should track the market and visitors more closely to quickly catch up with demand and the general recovery.

 

According to a recent report of Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), the country’s unemployment rate in the first quarter fell to the lowest level in three years thanks to the strong recovery of the tourism industry.

In Q1 2023, Thailand’s unemployment rate stood at 1.05%, lower than the level of 1.15% in the last three months of 2022. Specifically, out of 39.6 million people in the labor force, there are 420,000 unemployed people. This is the lowest level since the 1.03% recorded in the first quarter of 2020, before the country’s economy was deeply affected by the pandemic. In particular, in February alone, for the first time in four years, Thailand’s unemployment rate fell below 1%. In addition, employment increased to 2.4% year-on-year, from 1.5% three months earlier.

Experts said that Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2023 thanks to the continued recovery of the tourism industry, a key industry that has created the major job market in Thailand, after being hit by the pandemic.

However, the definition of unemployment in Thailand is very narrow because it is only counted as unemployed when a person does not work a single hour in a week surveyed. As a result, analysts say the statistics are not keeping pace with Thailand’s significant unofficial economy. Unofficial workers have unstable jobs such as motorbike taxi drivers, street vendors, grocers, online sales, etc., and accounts for a large proportion in the country.

The Thai government is now aiming to boost employment and bring the job market back to pre-pandemic levels.

(Source: Reuters)

According to aviation analytics company Cirium, global airline passenger traffic could surpass 2019 levels before the end of this year.

Previous forecasts have suggested that global airline passenger traffic will not recover until 2024. However, according to the latest analysis by Cirium, traffic is showing a faster-than-expected recovery, with growth in terms of RPK (revenue passenger kilometers). If this momentum continues, it is expected that in October, global airline passenger traffic will return to the pre-pandemic levels despite the Asia-Pacific market and China not keeping up with other countries.

According to Rob Morris, global head of consultancy at Cirium, based on schedules in April, Asia intra-regional, trans-Pacific, Asia-Europe and domestic Indonesia are the markets that record 15% lower traffic compared to the same period 2019. Notably, China was the country to record the lowest international airline capacity, an average decrease of 68% compared to pre-Covid levels because it is slower than others in reopening international flight routes (in January 2023).

Earlier this month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that global airline traffic had recovered by over 88% compared to March 2019, with total domestic passenger traffic returning to near pre-pandemic levels (98.9%).

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also forecasts that global air travel demand will fully recover and increase by about 3% compared to 2019 by the end of this year.

Wellness is now one of the top priorities for travelers in their trips. That’s why many businesses and destinations are trying to boost this type of travel, including Egypt.

Egypt utilizes its rich natural resources to develop medical tourism. The climate, mineral springs, sulfur waters, and hot sands are very suitable for curing. Therefore, many tourists come here to get treatment and improve their health.

The resorts around the Red Sea have completed their preparations for the healing tourist season (April to June), and so has Safaga, the seaside town. According to Dr. El-Nazer, a dermatologist, Safaga is one of the most well-known medical centers for curing psoriasis. The salinity of the seawater in Safaga is 30% higher than that of the Mediterranean, helping to treat many intractable skin diseases. Also, the coral reefs in the water in Safaga are suitable for curing skin diseases because they contain many unique minerals.

The seawater here has moderate temperatures and warm water from April to June. Besides, the natural black sand in Safaga is also an attractive curing destination for European tourists. In addition, the hotels also have zones for tourists who need sand baths for treatment and arrange medical staff and assistive devices for these visitors. Many tourists are satisfied with the effects of medical tourism in Egypt.

According to Ahmed Amer, a tourism expert, Egypt also has many other medical tourism destinations such as Bahariya Oasis, Kharga Oasis, and Siwa Oasis, surrounded by mountains, sulfuric waters, and mineral springs that help to heal rheumatism, skin diseases, and gastritis.

Currently, Egypt has 16 continental and coastal locations where there are natural treatments for a variety of ailments, such as Helwan, Ain Assera, Ain Sokhna, Hurghada, Fayoum, Siwa Oasis, Aswan, Sinai, Safaga on the Red Sea, and more. However, just a few among over 1,300 sulfur springs in Egypt were fully exploited.