Tourism events are becoming a crucial part of the strategies many destinations use to increase visitor numbers, extend the duration of stays, and diversify their tourism offerings. In Vietnam, provinces and cities are investing significantly in cultural festivals, music concerts, sports competitions, and other events to attract travelers. However, despite the growing scale and frequency of these events, many localities still lack the tools needed to assess their actual effectiveness. Measuring the socio-economic impact of tourism events is no longer just a desirable option; it is now essential.

The Growing Role of Tourism Events in Destination Development

In recent years, tourism events in Vietnam have increased in both number and variety. From heritage festivals and community fairs to international marathons and beach music shows, these events serve as powerful tools for destination branding and tourism promotion.

Tourism events offer numerous benefits. They enhance the visibility and appeal of destinations, helping them stand out in an increasingly competitive tourism market. Additionally, these events stimulate local spending by creating demand in various sectors, including accommodation, food and beverage, transportation, and retail services.

Another significant contribution of tourism events is their ability to extend the average length of stay for visitors. People often plan longer trips to fully experience both the event and the surrounding destination. Furthermore, events generate employment opportunities and provide avenues for local businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive, fostering economic growth within the community.

Despite these advantages, the lack of reliable measurement and evaluation can lead to inefficient planning, misallocated budgets, and missed opportunities.

Why Measuring Impact Matters

Measuring the impact of tourism events provides valuable data that aids in smarter decision-making for both destination managers and event organizers.

First, data-driven planning helps local governments and stakeholders identify which events produce the most value. With accurate insights, they can determine which events should be expanded, restructured, or perhaps discontinued, ensuring that each initiative aligns with the overall tourism strategy.

Second, measuring impact supports budget optimization. When authorities understand the actual returns from events, they can allocate public funding and attract private sponsorship more effectively, minimizing waste and enhancing the return on investment.

Third, it enables transparent reporting. Clear evidence of outcomes—such as visitor spending and community engagement—helps demonstrate value to sponsors, residents, and higher-level government bodies, fostering trust and accountability.

Finally, measurement is crucial for sustainable development. It highlights both the positive contributions and potential downsides of events, providing opportunities to improve areas like cultural preservation, environmental management, and inclusive community participation.

In summary, you can’t manage what you can’t measure.

Key Indicators for Measuring Event Impact

At Outbox, we recommend a comprehensive set of indicators to assess tourism event impact from multiple angles:

Economic Impact:

• Direct Spending: This includes what visitors spend during the event on essentials like accommodation, dining, transportation, souvenirs, and ticket purchases. These expenditures directly inject money into the local economy and provide a baseline for understanding visitor behavior and value.
  
• Indirect Spending: Beyond the immediate transactions, events drive indirect benefits through supply chains. Local producers, service providers, and logistics companies see increased demand due to event-related activities, thereby multiplying the economic contribution across sectors.
  
• Job Creation: Events often create both short-term and long-term employment opportunities. From temporary event staff to more sustained roles in hospitality and retail, the increased demand during events supports workforce development and income generation.
  
• Tax Revenue: With higher levels of commerce, local and national governments benefit through increased tax collections, from value-added taxes on purchases to business and income taxes paid by enterprises involved in the event.
  
• Return on Investment (ROI): ROI compares the total revenue generated from the event (including visitor spend and sponsorship) against the cost of organizing it. It helps authorities and organizers assess whether the event delivered proportional value relative to investment.

Social Impact:

• Visitor Satisfaction: Assessing how tourists evaluate their experience gives a clear sense of the event’s quality and its influence on destination perception. Positive reviews often translate into higher revisit intention and positive word-of-mouth.
  
• Resident Satisfaction: It is vital to understand how residents perceive the event. Do they feel proud of it? Do they experience disruptions or inconveniences? Gathering this feedback enables organizers to improve future editions and ensure social acceptance.
  
• Community Participation: A high level of local involvement—through volunteering, attendance, or partnership—signals that the event resonates with the community. It reflects public endorsement and ensures the event is rooted in local identity rather than being externally imposed.
  
• Cultural Integrity: Events should reinforce, not dilute, local culture. Evaluating whether the event celebrates authentic traditions or risks over-commercialization is key to long-term sustainability. The best events foster pride, preserve heritage, and create platforms for cultural expression.
  

Conclusion

Tourism events have significant potential, but without accurately measuring their true impact, much of that potential may remain unrealized. By adopting a structured impact assessment framework, local authorities and event organizers can access valuable data, improve the effectiveness of their events, and strengthen local tourism economies.

Outbox provides professional solutions designed to help destinations throughout Vietnam assess and enhance the socio-economic value of their tourism events. Let data guide you towards smarter and more sustainable event strategies.

Optimizing costs for operations, especially for market research, is always one of the top concerns in businesses. Finding a way to balance between efficient spending and receiving quality work is not a simple task. Businesses need to have insights into the types and phases of market research, factors affecting cost, and choose reliable travel market research firms.

Understanding the major types of market research

Understanding and identifying the proper type of research helps businesses avoid wasting resources. Usually, market research companies provide services based on two forms: Syndicated research and custom research.

Syndicated research is conducted independently and has a broad research subject, such as an industry. The research results can serve the whole market, so it is often more cost-effective.

In contrast, Custom research provides insight into a brand and serves a specific client, who sponsors the study and owns the research results.

Understanding the steps of doing market research

Market research is a complex process with many phrases and tools. It often consists of the following steps:

• Define research topic and objectives
• Build research methodology, questionnaire and sample
• Collect data
• Analyze data
• Results (reports, etc.)

Businesses need to understand the goals and requirements at each step as the complexity and criteria of the steps will also affect the overall research cost.

Identifying cost drivers to adjust

After understanding the steps in market research, we need to identify the factors that affect costs. Each research phase has its costs. After the researchers consider whether the adjustment affects the accuracy of the study results, they can address the costs based on the target phase and study design.

Specifically, the researcher can modify the existing questionnaire instead of creating a new one. Moreover, for small trials, businesses should limit the use of overly advanced technology and define the proper scope of implementation.

During the survey phase, we can optimize costs by conducting online surveys instead of face-to-face or phone interviews, reducing time for focus groups, the number of open-ended questions and analyses needed to maintain costs.

In the reporting phase, businesses can choose top-lint reports instead of in-depth reports. At the same time, they can reduce travel costs by online seminars/workshops.

Choose a specialized travel market research company

The cost of conducting a study can vary widely, depending on the method, technology, approach, level of analysis, and reporting. Choosing a research company with experienced research teams, quality analytical processes, and data processing will reduce risk and increase the accuracy of market research results.

Market research is an important activity that helps travel businesses make important decisions. Therefore, the optimization of implementation costs should go hand in hand with ensuring the accuracy of the results when doing market research. Reducing costs but in exchange for poor quality research will also be a waste for travel businesses.

 

Marketing budgets in recent years have been glooming due to the effects of pandemics, high inflation or supply chain disruptions. However, the spending on market research shows a completely different picture with growth recorded.

COVID-19 is the barrier but also the momentum

While overall budget growth may have slowed, the market research budget performed well. Companies are attempting to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their existing clients and target audiences.

According to Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, a media company in the UK, the number of businesses increasing investment in market research has increased rapidly, from a net balance of 0.7% in Q3/2021 to 7% in Q4/2021. It is the strongest increase recorded by the company over the past decade or so. Previously, in Q2/2020, the pandemic made many businesses tighten their spending, including market research budget.

After the pandemic was controlled, the situation has completely changed. Businesses of all industries realize they must understand their customers better than ever before. Consumers are changing much and fast. If businesses do not understand and respond to them in time, they will soon lose their position in the market. That’s why many businesses decided to increase their market research budget.

What businesses got with a market research budget boost

Market research will provide businesses the data they need to make optimal decisions, increase profits, attract potential customers, satisfy existing customers, and make effective marketing strategies, etc.

With a higher budget, they can get bespoke studies, customized to their needs and purposes. As a result, the decisions made will be more accurate.

In the tourism industry, a year after the “aftershocks” of COVID-19, it has not yet recovered. In the re-emergence of the epidemic, and the economic difficulties, tourists will change in behavior, psychology, preferences and trends again. It will be a big problem for many businesses and destinations if they cannot track and understand travelers. To get data, businesses can look to market research companies. With their advice and direction, businesses will have enough data for decision making and operation planning.

 

Research is an important activity that leads to operation and product improvements, planning as well as market expansion for the business. In recent years, investment in market research has increased significantly in large enterprises in many industries, including tourism, when they realize the benefits of this activity.

Why is market research important?

Market research helps companies understand their customers as today, they have too many sources of information to make decisions. By proper research, businesses can minimize costly risks, have strategic advantages over competitors and cope with changes caused by the pandemic.

The goal of market research is to provide useful information for companies to make right decisions. To obtain the information, businesses are willing to pay a certain price.

The cost of Market Research

Factors affecting cost

The cost of market research depends on many factors such as target audience, methodology, type of research, samples, etc. Market research is considered a time-consuming, complex, and quite expensive process, but it is effective.

For example, an online survey on 100 respondents will not cost as much as a phone survey or in-depth interview on the same sample size. In-person surveys usually require the cost of venue, facility, travel,… Or the smaller number of samples will be less expensive than the bigger one. Nevertheless, the smaller the sample size is, the larger the error will cost, a quantitative survey of 10 or 20 people will not be representative and hardly offer reliable results.

How much does market research cost?

Sectors such as Consumer Non-durables, Media and Entertainment, and Pharmaceuticals invest the most in this activity, followed by Government or non-profit organizations, Financial/Banking, Telecommunications, Retail, etc. The tourism industry has not yet invested too much in market research. However, facing big and unpredictable changes, travel businesses and destinations should soon consider investing.

Companies mostly spend from 5-20% of their annual revenue for research and development.

In general, market research does not have a fixed or average cost because they are often unique and serve different purposes.

 

Set budget and Choose a market research company

It’s very difficult for a business outside the market research sector to determine the number of samples, the type of survey, the way to build a questionnaire, quantitative or qualitative research, etc. The best way is consulting with a good market research firm.

This market research firm should be the one with high expertise, reliability, provide quality and transparent data with proven methods of data collection and analysis. Having cooperated with many domestic and international partners will be a big basis for businesses to choose a market research firm.

Businesses just need to set their budget, purpose and demand for market research, they will be provided bespoke reporting and research solutions as they wish. In case businesses haven’t yet set their reasonable budget, a market research company can propose a suitable quote.

Tourism and travel are one of the major economic development engines of many countries around the world. Vietnam has also been determined to turn tourism into a spearhead industry in recent years. However, the pandemic and socio-economic changes have made the tourism industry increasingly complex and unpredictable. Therefore, many businesses are utilizing market research to make the right decisions and seek new opportunities.

Here are the reasons why businesses gradually use market research.

Travelers can search for more information than ever

With the explosion of technology, travelers today have countless sources to find information for their trips. Popular sources can be mentioned as Google, social media, YouTube, websites of travel agencies, review sites, blogs, celebrities, influencers, and more.

In particular, Gen Z is a generation whose shopping habits are heavily influenced by YouTube, social media, and other online platforms. When planning a trip, they tend to do little research, ask for third-party opinions, and read online reviews.

Knowing where your target audience is looking for information, what they desire, and how they make decisions will help businesses reach as well as connect more effectively. Businesses will need market research to get this data.

Minimize costly risks

Optimizing costs will contribute to profit maximization. And to limit the impact on the budget, businesses must ensure to minimize risks. Comprehensive research can help businesses understand customers’ feelings about their products, services, and marketing messages. Simultaneously, it can help identify potentially problematic items before they go to market and receive negative feedback from consumers. Nevertheless, businesses should be aware that insufficient market research can lead to inefficient and wasteful decisions.

Have a strategic advantage over competitors

In addition to customers, costs, or profits, businesses also need to pay attention to competitive advantages, especially in the current challenging market. Thanks to in-depth market research, businesses will have a more accurate picture of what visitors like, want, and need. Thereby, they can create services and marketing that meet consumer needs better than competitors.

In uncertain times, adaptability can also become a competitive advantage for businesses. When there are big swings in any market, the brands that can adapt best are the ones that have the biggest chance of survival and growth. To capture how the market and consumers are changing, businesses cannot simply observe or judge because there will be many risks. Market research is what they need then.

COVID-19 changes the tourism industry

Brand and market research of businesses from before the pandemic no longer accurately reflects the current state of the tourism industry. Due to the pandemic, global tourist arrivals dropped by 73% in 2020, and 1 billion fewer visitors than in 2019.

Though the tourism industry is recovering and the pandemic is controlled, priorities for health, safety, hygiene, and sustainability are still in focus. Therefore, businesses still have to put these issues first.

Thus, market research is vital as it can help businesses understand and reach customers, reduce risks, increase competitive advantage, and adapt to every change in the market.

After rebranding, in addition to continuing to release market research reports, The Outbox Company develops a series of multi-dimensional research solutions for the travel and hospitality industry. Our latest solution, Vietnam Travel Market Tracker, is the only specialized travel market tracking solution that provides insights directly from Vietnamese travelers on the domestic and outbound sectors.

Following the principles of Outbox, Vietnam Travel Market Tracker puts data quality, the basis of every solution, first.

Sample quality with international standards

Survey attendants of Vietnam Travel Market Tracker are Vietnamese tourists between the ages of 18 and 65, living in all areas of the country. It is required that they take at least one domestic and/or foreign trip within the three months up to the time of the study.

Therefore, the solution is ideal for any travel brand or business, including destinations, hotels and resorts, attractions, airlines, TAs, OTAs, etc. that target the Vietnamese travelers.

 

We field our surveys with up to 4,000 samples in total (1,000 samples/quarter) via an online panel, which actively recruits and maintains a million Vietnamese consumers across the country. The respondents must fit a set list of criteria with quotas to form a nationally representative sample of Vietnamese tourists based on international standards of market research.

Two-process quality control

Two-process quality control is applied before, during and after fielding. We apply technology and expertise to filter and check the information.

Firstly, platform-specific quality control includes preventing the same IP from answering the questionnaire more than once, invalid responses, and incomplete responses.

Secondly, manual quality control by Outbox’s research analysts is applied to detect bias in the responses, for example agreeing with all, selecting only the first or last response, or giving socially desirable answers to questions.

Updated every 3 months

The Vietnam Travel Market Tracker solution explores and monitors quarterly all changes in the insights of Vietnamese travelers throughout the year.

With the Vietnam Travel Market Tracker solution, businesses/destinations will discover the Vietnamese tourist profiles through important indicators that are clearly updated every quarter. The factors being tracked and analyzed include behaviors, characteristics, psychology, demographics, and lifestyle of a Vietnamese traveler. In addition, there are changes in life such as the impact of the economy, personal plans/habits on holidays,… How do the shifts in these factors affect their decision to travel? Outbox will help businesses and destinations to answer the question thoroughly by data.

 

In business, it is very important to grasp and respond to significant changes in the market and consumers in a timely manner.

A visible example is during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, under travel restrictions, online services and delivery boom. In addition, people become more aware and concerned about their health. Their purchasing habits, behaviors, and even demands also change accordingly. Businesses need to understand the changes of customers to adjust and propose campaigns/strategies suitable for consumers (travelers) reasonably. And one of the best ways is using the tracking solution.

What is tracking?

Tracking is a method of following and observing research subjects in a specific period of time in order to measure changes in attitude, behavior, status,… for further analysis of the subject.

How can tracking help in market research?

Tracking allows the researcher to continuously or frequently follow a subject by repeating the same questionnaire over and over, and comparing how data points change over time.

Tracking studies can offer a 360° view on their subject and draw a big picture. It focuses on developments and shifts rather than the status quo. Tracking helps us discover relevant changes early to take action before the real problems come.

Based on tracking data of the market and customers, we will be able to decide to renew our business model and products/services in a specific time.

In travel market research in particular, tracking topics of The Outbox Company range from changes in demographics (e.g. age, income, value of life,…), to experiences and psychology of tourists (such as travel inspiration, satisfaction, etc.), or their behaviors (where and when they travel, whom they travel with,…).

Tracking in the Vietnam Travel Market Tracker solution

Lately, The Outbox Company launched a new solution named Vietnam Travel Market Tracker. This is now the first and only solution in Vietnam to track domestic and outbound Vietnamese tourist profiles.

With the solution, Outbox conducts online surveys via an online panel on 1,000 samples. Every three months, we will analyze and update the data to know the change in behavior and psychology of Vietnamese tourists. Then, Vietnam Travel Market Tracker users will have an overview of Vietnamese tourists throughout the year. Thanks to that, they can make decisions on improving existing products/services as well as creating new products/services to meet the needs of consumers.

 

The Outbox Company always tries to forecast based on data and insight, instead of just watching, feeling and judging. However, in some cases, observation also helps much for market research and evaluation.

For instance, when you ask someone how they make a cup of coffee, they will list main steps. But if you watch them, you may discover interesting facts such as how they choose the cup, how they stir, and taste, what kind of coffee they like,…

Past-to-present existence

Since its origins in the 1930s, the market research industry has moved on and interviews, either face to face or by telephone, have gradually become a popular method of data collection. But there is still a role for observation, and usually as one of a mix of methods that form part of the whole research design.

In the past, observation proved its important role in the market research industry. Prior to the Second World War, the British government sponsored the Mass Observation Project to provide an anthropological study of the nation. Volunteers across the country watched, listened and captured their observations in diaries for data analysis.

Today, some market research companies in the world still do reports based on observational methods. At The Outbox Company, we combine observation with other methods to give the most accurate and objective results. Because tourism is a complex and often changing industry.

 

Ethnographic observation

Ethnographic observation is the long and deep engagement in a field of study to systematically document the life, behavior, and interactions of a community. This is a common observational method in market research.

For years, anthropologists have researched tribes by using observation. They seek to become a part of the tribe until their presence is taken for granted and the behaviors of the people they are observing are as normal as can be. Market researchers have learnt and drawn on this experience. Thereby, ethnography is widely used as a market research tool, particularly in figuring out how people buy or use products.

A typical example of ethnographic research is accompanying someone on a shopping trip and watching them when they choose products.

Ethnographic observation requires the full cooperation of respondents. They have to act as normally as possible. This may be difficult or awkward knowing that their every move is being observed and recorded. That’s why the researcher needs to take time before the observation in order to get to know the respondents and make them comfortable. So ethnography can be a lengthy process and relatively expensive. It is qualitative research and ethnographic observations may provide interesting insights.