The year 2022 marks a strong revival of the tourism industry after being walloped by the two-year pandemic. According to previous assertions from The Outbox Company, the outbound tourism market of Vietnamese tourists has not decreased. It has been pent up and temporarily “frozen” due to external factors such as travel regulations, health risks, pandemic or travel costs, etc.
According to the report “How Vietnamese are reconnecting with outbound travel?” from The Outbox Company, in the first nine months of 2022, 88.5% of Vietnamese outbound travelers took both domestic and outbound trips. This proves that the outbound tourism market does not negatively affect the domestic tourism market. On the other hand, these two markets develop independently and in parallel depending on the needs and affordability of Vietnamese tourists. Although the tourism situation still has certain limitations, the outbound travel demand of Vietnamese tourists is still increasing, especially in leisure travel.
Due to the pent-up travel demand in the past two years, the number of Vietnamese tourists traveling abroad began to increase when Vietnam and the world loosened travel restrictions and opened the border in March 2022. According to a survey by Outbox, the main motivation for making overseas trips right after the pandemic is not only for relaxation and vacation. But it is also the desire to reconnect with outbound travel after a long lockdown.
Source: The report “How Vietnamese are reconnecting with outbound travel 2022”, The Outbox Company
29.25% of Vietnamese tourists surveyed said traveling abroad is a regular activity that helps them reconnect with their passion for travel and arouses their passion to explore the world.
It can be seen that the pent-up demand for overseas trips during the two years of border closure has motivated Vietnamese people to take leisure outbound trips.
In addition, the opening of the border has also put foreign service tourism back on the right track. However, only over 30% of survey respondents said that they travel abroad to do business or to attend conferences and exhibitions.
In January 2022, the “Vietnamese Travel Sentiment Report” showed that concerns about loved ones’ safety (both the elderly & children) were among the major barriers to travel. Nevertheless, until now, when concerns about safety have been significantly reduced, the desire to reconnect with family and friends of Vietnamese tourists after a long time of separation has also been revived.
The pent-up demand for outbound travel is one of the reasons for the explosion of the new trend of “revenge tourism”. According to the report of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), by 2030, resort tourism will also be the most popular form of tourism.
Besides the demand for overseas trips in general and outbound leisure ones in particular, Vietnamese tourists are willing to pay more to experience and relieve stress. 65% of survey respondents spent more on their trips in 2022 than they did on trips in 2019. While 22% spent the same and only 13% spent less on their first outbound after COVID-19.
The increasing number of foreign tourists and the high affordability are signs of a positive recovery for Vietnam’s outbound market after the pandemic. All research and outstanding information will be found in the Vietnam Outbound Travel report.
The Outbox Company
