After seeing a strong decline of outbound travel in 2020, the tourism industry is now brighter as travelers are eager to go abroad again.

The Outbox Company released “How Vietnamese Are Reconnecting With Outbound Travel?” report, about the trends and behaviors of Vietnam outbound travelers. The report is in the syndicated report series of Outbox Insight, one of the two key areas that The Outbox Company focuses on after rebranding.

Declining concerns lead to increasing travel demand

“Vietnamese travel sentiment” report in June of Outbox showed that concern about the safety of a destination was decreasing over time. In October 2021, the figure was 8.21 points (on a 10-point scale). After only 1 month, the level of concern about safety dropped to 7.85 points and continued to decrease to 6.15 points in May 2022. As sentiment is back, Vietnamese begin to include overseas destinations in their travel plans.

Along with pent-up demand, domestic and international tourism has grown rapidly. According to “How Vietnamese Are Reconnecting With Outbound Travel?” report from Outbox, 88.5% Vietnamese tourists took both domestic and outbound trips in the first nine months of 2022.

65% Vietnamese travelers spend more for outbound travel

Through the survey, Outbox saw that Vietnamese tourists have changed in behaviors and trends while traveling abroad.

They are willing to spend more as a way to help release their pandemic stress. 65% of travelers surveyed said they spent more on overseas trips than in 2019.

Before COVID-19, 48% of Vietnamese outbound travelers preferred guided group tours from travel agents. However, this option fell in popularity, with only 20% of travelers chosen for their outbound trip last summer. They now prefer to take their self guided outbound trips solo, with family members or friends.

Whether before or after the pandemic, the cost of the trip is always the top concern of tourists. Besides, due to COVID-19 impact, in addition to cost, people especially care about the safety of a destination. Top 5 must-do activities of Vietnamese outbound travelers are sightseeing (72.09%), exploring local cuisines (66.8%), shopping in malls (57.3%), visiting amusement parks (51.8%), and visiting cultural attractions (48.8%).

Vietnamese travelers are shortening planning time for outbound trips in less than a month (62% in 2022 compared to 29.3% in 2019). They are increasingly seeking flexible bookings. The reason is because everything is unpredictable. Shorter planning times and flexible bookings can help them reduce risk.

The new middle class with higher consumption

Outbox’s report states that Vietnam’s new middle class will make an important contribution to the development of outbound tourism. They have good income (more than 15 million VND or 750 USD), higher daily spending (from 30 USD) and good education. Nearly 60% of the population in Vietnam under 35 years old are better educated and earning higher incomes than previous generations.

Not only do they spend more while traveling, they also have an awareness of environmental protection and the sustainability of the destination. These make up a promising market for many destinations.

2022 marks the first stage of travel recovery, with all the delayed demand busted in excitement. Nevertheless, somehow people are still very cautious about traveling abroad. Some forecasts say 2023 will see even more optimism in tourism. Businesses and destinations need to grasp new trends and changes in tourist behavior early to achieve good results in the coming time.

 

Nowadays, outbound travel is no longer a privilege of a few, like elites or business travelers. More and more people can manage to take one or even many trips abroad every year, but when the COVID-19 epidemic spread all over the globe. Nevertheless, the travel interruption in the last two years cannot suppress the robust demand for post-pandemic outbound tourism in Vietnam.

According to Vietnam Outbound Travel 2022, the latest report of Vietnam-based market intelligence company The Outbox Company, the growth of the country’s new middle class can boost Vietnam outbound tourism in the coming times.

The impact of new middle class

The report states that the total number of Vietnamese outbound travelers is forecasted to grow much faster, mainly due to the growth of the country’s new middle class. The middle and affluent class (MAC) are those whose monthly income is at least VND 15 million (around USD 750), a threshold at which consumption is observed to take off.

The MAC population in Vietnam is estimated to triple between 2012 and 2030, with an annual growth rate of 12.9%. It’s higher than other countries in the Southeast Asia region including Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand.

According to a report on Vietnamese consumers from McKinsey & Company, the number of Vietnamese consumers entering the middle class with new consumption power is growing and well positioned in Asia’s consumption map over the next decade. The two highest tiers of the consuming class (middle and affluent class spending USD 30 or more per day) are growing the fastest and may account for 20 percent of Vietnam’s population by 2030.

It can be seen that they will tend to spend more not only for their basic demands but leisure activities like traveling as well. As the quality of life is higher, along with a bigger desire to explore the world, and the quick development of social media and technology, Vietnamese travelers can be urged to go abroad more.

A promising market due to well educated travelers with high incomes

It’s great news that the demand of outbound tourism in Vietnam is increasing after the pandemic. And it’s much better that Vietnamese outbound travelers have a good standard of education, as reported by The Outbox Company. Knowledge and education allow them to better understand and appreciate destinations adding to the experiential component of Vietnamese outbound travel. As a result, they can be aware of supporting the locality as well as contributing to sustainability and environmental protection while traveling to any destination.

In addition to getting a good education, nearly 60 percent of the population under 35 years old in Vietnam earn more than previous generations. The fact that they will spend more and respect the places they visit makes up a promising market for many destinations.

More data and insight about the middle class impact in particular and the Vietnam outbound travel market in general can be found in the Vietnam Outbound Travel 2022 report of The Outbox Company.