The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center (HTPC), under the Department of Tourism, in strategic partnership with The Outbox Company, proudly announces the launch of the HCMC Global Traveler Barometer (HCMC GTB). This groundbreaking initiative applies advanced travel market data technology to forecast and monitor key international visitor markets for Vietnam. It marks a major leap in leveraging traveler data to enhance destination marketing and solidifies Ho Chi Minh City as the first locality in Vietnam to develop a dedicated system for tracking and forecasting its target markets.

Data-Powered Strategy for Sustainable Growth

The primary aim of this collaboration is to optimize Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism marketing and promotion activities, while fostering sustainable growth for the destination on a data-driven foundation. The HCMC GTB focuses on forecasting travel demand and readiness from top international markets. In addition, the system will provide regular updates on traveler behavior and preferences, and objectively measure Ho Chi Minh City’s destination image in the eyes of international visitors.

This crucial data resource will play a pivotal role in guiding strategic decisions, improving competitiveness, and reinforcing Ho Chi Minh City’s position as a leading, innovative tourism hub in Vietnam.

HCMC GTB 2025: A Comprehensive Traveler Intelligence Platform

Designed as a comprehensive, annual traveler intelligence system for the city’s tourism industry, HCMC GTB will initially track data from 13 top visitor markets, including Korea, Japan, Australia, China, Europe, the US-Canada, and Southeast Asia. This advanced platform equips the city’s tourism authorities and businesses with deep insights into target markets, including:

• Forecasting demand and travel intentions to Ho Chi Minh City.
• Monitoring shifts in travel behavior.
• Measuring and comparing destination brand image and marketing performance against regional competitors.

Insights are gathered through surveys of target travelers at the pre-trip stage and presented via concrete performance indicators. These are analyzed with advanced data analytics models and updated biannually. This approach enhances the city’s ability to understand and forecast global tourism trends, enabling effective and strategic tourism development.

Voices from the Partnership

Ms. Nguyen Cam Tu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center, stated: “Digital transformation through data application is a crucial step, especially in today’s fast-changing market. Pioneering the implementation of an international traveler tracking and forecasting system reaffirms Ho Chi Minh City’s position post-integration and reflects our commitment to continuous innovation in tourism management and development. We believe that our partnership with The Outbox Company will help strengthen our competitiveness and elevate our destination image in the region.”

Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc, CEO of The Outbox Company, added: “We are honored to be selected as HTPC’s strategic partner in implementing the HCMC Global Traveler Barometer. With our expertise in market research and tourism data analytics across Asia, we are committed to delivering a successful project that boosts the city’s competitiveness. This project also reinforces The Outbox Company’s mission as a pioneering tourism data startup in Asia, working alongside destinations and tourism authorities in Vietnam to integrate market research and traveler data into tourism operations and marketing.”

About the Partners

Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center (HTPC) is a unit under the Department of Tourism of Ho Chi Minh City. It leads the implementation of tourism promotion and marketing activities, contributing to positioning the city’s tourism brand globally.

The Outbox Company is a leading market research and traveler analytics company in Vietnam, operating across Asia in the hospitality and tourism sectors. With deep understanding of regional travelers, Outbox provides comprehensive and customized data solutions to help destinations and tourism businesses effectively connect with their target audiences. As a trusted partner, Outbox supports digital transformation journeys towards a smarter future for Asian tourism.

For more information:

• Visit Ho Chi Minh City Tourism: https://www.visithcmc.vn
• Visit The Outbox Company: https://the-outbox.com

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.

 

Named as a “completely safe to visit” destination, Ho Chi Minh City is in the first place in the ranking of the trendiest destinations in 2023. This is the rating of the travel site Travel Off Path based on the search volume of visitors.

According to Travel Off Path, travelers are eager to return to Asia and explore the natural wonders and Buddhist temples. In fact, the demand for cross-border experiences in Asia is so high that it now has seven out of 10 on the list of top trending destinations for 2023. While Asia has not yet fully recovered to pre-crisis levels, it is in a much better position than it was at the start of the year. Some Asian countries that have completely banned travel in response to the COVID-19 epidemic are welcoming back tourists from all over the world.

These statements of Travel Off Path are based on the survey results of the famous online travel company Kayak (USA). The survey results show that there is a significant increase in the search for vacations in the region, especially when more and more Asia-Pacific countries have lifted anti-epidemic measures. Kayak has named Asia and the South Pacific “regions of the year” for international travel in 2023.

According to experts, 2022 is the year of European tourism after the “old continent” soon lifted restrictive regulations to prevent epidemics. For American tourists, going to Europe is very convenient because there are countless direct flights connecting the US with destinations in Europe. Nonetheless, according to Kayak, in 2023, American tourists will seek out new destinations, even if there are no direct flights from their home cities.

Based on the data, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) is at the top of the list of 10 trending destinations in 2023. Search volume shows that Ho Chi Minh City leads with a search rate that increased by 769% over the previous year, much higher than the second destination, Taipei (Taiwan, China), with a growth rate of 289%.

The number of US tourists to Vietnam will continue to increase because the epidemic prevention and control restrictions have been lifted. International flights have also resumed, and the most important reason: “Vietnam is a completely safe destination to visit”. Coming to Ho Chi Minh City, visitors will have the opportunity to explore a modern city. The ancient features of French colonial architecture, religious architecture, and so on are mixed in with modernity.

Along with Ho Chi Minh City, in Travel Off Path’s list of 10 trending destinations in 2023, there are Tel Aviv (Israel), Tokyo (Japan), Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong (China), Singapore, Taipei (Taiwan, China), Auckland (New Zealand), Melbourne (Australia), and Sydney (Australia).

Ho Chi Minh City will strengthen the measurements of COVID-19 prevention during the Lunar New Year.

Against the risk of XBB.1.5 penetration, new Omicron subvariant, Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, issued the official document on COVID-19 prevention and control during the Lunar New Year 2023.

At Tan Son Nhat airport

The HCMC Department of Health designated the Center for Disease Control to be on duty 24/7, using remote body temperature monitor.

People with suspected symptoms will be transported to a temporary quarantine area for a check-up and COVID-19 test. If the rapid test result is negative, passengers will be allowed to continue with the immigration process and instructed to self-monitor at the hotel.

If the test results are positive, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will work with other departments to accelerate the patient’s immigration procedures, then transfer the patient to the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases to collect samples for RT-PCR test.

At the sea ports

The Center for Disease Control will be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week to collect data on inbound ships.

When there is a crew member on board having COVID-19 symptoms, a quick test will be done. If the result is negative, they can continue to work normally and are instructed to self-monitor at the ship. In case the test result is positive with mild symptoms, or no symptoms, they will be isolated at the ship. With a positive result and severe symptoms, they will be transferred to the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment and RT-PCR testing.

Some regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control during the Lunar New Year

The HCMC Department of Health’s requirements:

• Organizers of events with big crowds follow requirements for COVID-19 prevention and management.
• Encourage COVID-19 vaccination, including during Tet holidays.
• Keep the Field Hospital No.13 ready for resumption within 24 hours.
• All hospitals in the city are ready to receive, collect and treat COVID-19 patients, in terms of human resources, facilities, equipment and medicines.
• Enhance the collection, management and treatment of COVID-19 cases.

Ho Chi Minh City has launched many new featured tours to meet the trend – City dwellers travel in the city.

HCMC Tourism: ‘Colors of Binh Tan’

The tour ‘Colors of Binh Tan’ introduces the cultural and traditional values of the Binh Tan district to tourists. They will visit destinations such as Binh Tri Dong communal house, Hue Nghiem pagoda, ABC cake factory, Koi fish coffee, and experience making gifts from recycled materials.

Binh Tan is one of the two largest districts in the city. It has many attractive places to visit, and local people have rich cultural lives.

HCMC Tourism: Visiting District 10 to hear stories about Chinese medicine

HCMC develops two tourism products in District 10, including ‘District 10 where history marks’ and ‘Visiting District 10 to hear stories about Chinese medicine’.

The latter provides information about the traditional Chinese medicine, the pride of District 10. Visitors have a chance to visit the apothecary room and herbal garden at Tan Hung Long Buddhist Temple.

In addition, visitors will visit the Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, the traditional architecture of the Vietnamese nation. This is the place to store many samples of medicinal plants and animals, precious medicinal minerals of Vietnam.

These two products will also contribute to promoting destinations, standard service businesses, accommodation, dining, and entertainment establishments in the area.

HCMC Tourism: “Nha Be’s New Day”

Nha Be district launched the product “Nha Be’s new day” to introduce to visitors the culture, people, and history of Nha Be.

Tourists will visit places such as Ngu Hanh Temple (Chau Doc Temple 2) and Tan Cang Hiep Phuoc. Besides, visitors can experience decorative painting at Life is beautiful – Art school and have lunch at Khai Phuong Restaurant.

Products will continue to be perfected and added in the near future to meet the increasingly diverse needs of visitors.

During the New Year’s Day, many provinces in Vietnam saw a huge number of international tourists return. 

According to data from Quang Nam province’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the number of international visitors here over the recent holiday reached 89,000. It was nearly three times higher than the number of domestic visitors (31,000).

Aside from Quang Nam, other provinces throughout the country saw positive signals. Thua Thien – Hue welcomed 19,000 visitors, with 50% being foreigners. Over 58,000 tourists went to Da Nang, with 60% being international visitors. Khanh Hoa welcomed 355,000 tourists, with 11 international flights every day and more than 200 people per flight on average.

Meanwhile, the two biggest cities in the country, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, recorded international arrivals of 38,000 and 35,000 respectively. In Hanoi, the occupancy rate of foreign visitors reached nearly 30%. They are mainly from Japan, Germany, South Korea, and the US.

According to the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City Departments of Tourism, due to the relatively short New Year’s Day, the number of domestic tourists was not high. The occupancy rate in tourist cities was just over 60%. Most people preferred staycation rather than long trips.

As forecasted, the number of travelers would rise around the Lunar New Year and important holidays. Therefore, in order to minimize overcrowding, aviation authorities have devised a strategy to expand night flights. 

Tan Son Nhat, Vietnam’s largest and busiest airport, recently announced that it will double night flights to 200 flights per day to ease congestion in the upcoming Tet holiday. There are now 106 flights every night here.

Specifically, from January 5 to February 6, 2023, airlines of Vietnam will be authorized to add 100 more domestic flights connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the 12 tourist attractions such as Hanoi, Phu Yen, Lam Dong, Quang Binh, Hue, Da Nang, etc. between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m.

Previously, airlines of Vietnam introduced 20 new domestic flights each day, totaling 3,000 tickets to and from Ho Chi Minh City from January 5 to February 6.

The Lunar New Year falls on January 22 this year. Government of Vietnam has declared a seven-day national vacation from January 20 to January 26. This is the time when millions of migrant workers from big cities come back to their hometowns. A large number of travelers will also visit tourist hotspots.

With 116 million passengers, Vietnam’s aviation industry grew by double digits in 2019. The Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration expects to serve 100 million passengers this year.

Ho Chi Minh City intends to launch an overnight cruise ship on the Saigon River beginning next year. 

The varieties of overnight cruises on the Saigon River will range from 100 to 200 rooms. Tiny wooden boats will carry from 10 to 50 passengers, connecting with small canals and historical places along the route.

Furthermore, HCMC will continue to create products such as the tourist route to District 7, the Bach Dang – Can Gio tourism route, and a canal tourist route connecting Ho Chi Minh City to Tien Giang, Ben Tre, and vice versa.

Every Saturday and Sunday, Ho Chi Minh City will reproduce the floating market format in the Tan Thuan bridge region to promote river tourism. Simultaneously, the city will also diversify watercraft entertainment services, connecting water entertainment and amusement clubs such as yacht club, inflatable boat club, kayaking,… to attract customers to experience.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism anticipates that this new activity will increase waterway tourism by 10-15% every year, bringing 1.5 million tourists.

According to experts, the Saigon River has the potential to become a famous symbol like the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, the Huangpu River in Shanghai, or the Moskva River in Russia, but the city has not fully capitalized on it.