According to Vietnam Travel Market Tracker Q2/23, the travel motivations of Vietnamese tourists in Q2/2023 were diverse, with relaxation and visiting friends and relatives being the two most popular purposes. Work-related purposes ranked lower.

There were some interesting differences in the travel motivations of different age groups. Gen Y tourists were more likely to travel for medical treatment than Gen Z tourists. This is surprising, as Gen Z is generally healthier than older generations. However, Gen X and Baby boomers also prioritized medical treatment less than Gen Y, even though these are the two groups of tourists who need to take care of their health the most.

Similarly, rest and relaxation were the biggest travel motivation of Vietnamese tourists in Q2 with more than 60% chosen by all age groups. This was followed by connecting with family and friends, and looking for new experiences. The selection rate for these three top motivations was almost identical among age groups.

However, there were some differences in the fourth and fifth most popular motivations. For Gen Z, the fourth most popular motivation was spending time with “important people”. For older groups of tourists, the fourth most popular motivation was saving money. This is likely because young tourists often do not have children, so they are more likely to travel with their partners or spouses. Cost only ranks 6th among the motivations for Gen Z tourists.

There has also been a change in the importance of travel preference as a motivating factor for travel. In 2022, travel preference was the third most popular motivation for all age groups. However, in 2023, it only ranks 7th for Gen Z and Gen Y, and 6th for Gen X and Baby boomers. This suggests that tourists who are still working and studying value their time for work and study more than their personal preferences. While for Gen X and Baby boomers tourists, it is the opposite, they will prioritize their travel preferences more.

Very few tourists in all age groups choose work requirements as a motivating factor for travel. This also corresponds to the proportion of tourists who made trips in Q2 with work-related purposes being the least.

DISCOVER MORE INSIGHTS OF VIETNAMESE TRAVELERS
IN Q2/2023

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 tourism market is constantly changing. Therefore, to capture customer needs and develop a strategy, businesses need to find a new approach. One of the best ways is to track and understand their behavior. With three modules including 17 indicators from the Vietnam Travel Market Tracker (VTMT) solution, businesses can clearly see the picture of the Vietnamese tourism market. How do travelers change in travel behavior and psychology during the year? This big question will be thoroughly answered by VTMT.

The potrait

The first module of the Vietnam Travel Market Tracker solution will tell you about the identity (demographics and lifestyle) of Vietnamese tourists. It consists of 2 main indicators:

– Age: One of the factors to ensure the survey sample is quality and representative enough. Outbox selects respondents in different age groups divided by X, Y, Z genes. In addition, generation grouping will help users understand and compare specifically the differences of each age group or the travel behavior of a particular group.

– Purpose of the trip: This helps businesses define their customer segments more clearly when capturing their target group, whether it’s travel for leisure or business.

The preference

Businesses, specifically the sales department, can apply the second module and make specific strategies. Traveler behavior is reflected in indicators that track travel journeys as well as shape their consumption characteristics through:

– Destination: Businesses will know the top domestic and foreign destinations of Vietnamese tourists in each period.

– Factors affecting destination choice: Show that Vietnamese tourists choose a destination because of cost, beautiful scenery, rich cuisine or any other reason.

– Type of trip: Answer the question whether tourists prefer self-guided trips or tour packages.

– Travel company/brand: This helps travel businesses know their position in the mind of customers compared to other competitors.

– Planning time: Knowing when many people plan to travel will help businesses predict and prepare products/services ready.

– Information source: Travel website, travel blog or forum, family, friends, colleagues,… This will help businesses know what is the most popular information source to apply in their business strategy or product promotion.

– Booking channel: What is the service channel chosen by tourists amongst suppliers, travel agents or OTA (online travel agencies).

– Duration of the trip: This factor helps businesses design products suitable for customers who want a day trip, short- or long-term journey.

– Favorite activities at the destination: Adding or developing the destination’s strengths with activities that match tourist interests will leave a good impression and review.

– Type of accommodation: Visitors of all ages will generally prefer different types of accommodation. For example, gen X favors mid- to high-end resorts or hotels, while gen Z favors homestays and budget hotels.

– Budget: How much are they willing to pay on average for a trip? Understanding this, businesses can design and price their products and services better.

– Type of payment: Cash, credit cards, ATM cards, e-wallets, and more. Businesses rely on this result to boost the popular payment methods so that the payment goes smoothly. The customer experience of the service channel will also increase.

 

Advertising – Connect – Satisfaction

The last module answers the question “What do tourists like?.” Businesses will understand their psychology when they choose and purchase tourism products and services. The indicators measured by VTMT include:

– Communication channels: After the trip, on which channels do visitors share their experiences: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, blog,…? Businesses can increase interaction with customers via these platforms to build and boost brand identification.

– Satisfaction: This indicator helps a lot in the next strategy of the business to continuously improve their satisfaction.

– Net promoter score: This is also an indicator to measure customer loyalty when they decide to come back or suggest this destination to friends and family.

 

With all above indicators, VTMT is a solution that clearly shows a tourist profile from who they are, how they travel and how to connect with them during 4 quarters in a year.

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.

 

Definition

Demography is the statistical study regarding the characteristics of a population. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions such as age, gender, race, religion, education level, income level, and more. They are known as identifier variables, i.e. data values ​​that determine the identity of an object. Demographics analysis can cover whole societies or groups.

For instance, by demographic study, you will know the average age of a country. At a micro level, you will know about the sex ratio, age groups and their respective income levels in a district. This supports you in determining the segment and making suitable products for it. Because basically, the preferences of men and women, people in their twenties and forties, people with incomes of 10 million and 100 million VND/month are not the same.

Therefore, in addition to government statistics, demography is also important in market research to support businesses.

Demography in business

In business, demographics data is seen as a factor to measure and identify the target market of most businesses in any industry. Thanks to demography, you will clearly understand the target audience, how to build and promote products, how effective the service is to users, etc. Thereby, you can assess their shopping psychology and behavior as well as predict shopping trends. Then, you will have a basis to plan your next strategic plans.

For example, in terms of age, if your target region or market has a young population, your communication strategy, product, etc. will be a lot different to others with an old population. Or you can hardly sell an overpriced item in a market where most people have low income.

To know the characteristics of a market, businesses need surveys, analysis and market research.

Demography in the Vietnam Travel Market Tracker solution

In Vietnam Travel Market Tracker, the newly launched solution of The Outbox Company, demography is one of the important research aspects. The solution analyzes variables identifying Vietnamese tourists including age, income and family status, as well as understanding their travel motivations and living values.

Besides demography and lifestyle, Outbox’s new solution also focuses on analyzing the psychological and behavioral characteristics of Vietnamese tourists. All aspects will provide insights of Vietnamese traveler profiles. Their profiles will be updated regularly every quarter throughout the year. This helps businesses/tourist destinations capture the changes in Vietnamese people’s travel habits to meet their needs over time.

When you understand your customers and know your own strengths, you will win every single game!

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.