Australia is considered one of the promising markets that Vietnamese travel companies are focusing on.
During a recent tourism seminar between Vietnamese enterprises and Australia, Mr. Darrell Wade, Chairman of Intrepid Travel Group, affirmed that Australia is currently a promising source market for the Vietnamese tourism industry.
In recent times, direct flights connecting the two countries have contributed to bringing many Australian tourists to Vietnam
Evidence of this is the number of tourists brought to Vietnam by Intrepid Travel in 2023, which exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels. At present, Vietnam is emerging as a destination offering diverse experiences. Intrepid Travel initially focused on adventure tourism in Vietnam, but later expanded to offer cultural and culinary tours.
“My friends visited Melbourne and said the city is amazing, but everything is expensive, such as dining in restaurants. In Vietnam, tourists have access to international standard services at much more reasonable prices. This does not mean that Vietnam is a cheap destination, but rather the value, the uniqueness that Vietnam can offer to tourists,” added Mr. Darrell Wade.
Assessing the potential for extensive cooperation and tourist exchanges between Vietnam and Australia commensurate with the relationship between the two countries, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Ho An Phong emphasized: In 2023, the Vietnamese tourism industry witnessed a recovery by welcoming 12.6 million international visitors. Among them, Australian tourists accounted for only 3%, but they are an important and promising source, with a trend of longer stays and higher spending.
Just two months into 2024, the number of Australian tourists visiting Vietnam equaled 25% of the total for the entire year of 2023. In the future, cooperation between the parties needs to be further strengthened to achieve new results, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism will spare no effort to support the development of tourism businesses in both countries.
Mr. Andrew Goledzinowski, Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, believes that tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Australia has many opportunities for development, especially after the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and established more direct flight routes connecting their cities.
“Most recently, the addition of the Hanoi – Melbourne flight route, and we need even more direct flights. As more Vietnamese students study in Australia, their families and relatives will also visit Australia. People-to-people exchanges between the two countries are increasingly being strengthened,” stated Mr. Andrew Goledzinowski.
Furthermore, representatives of Australian tourism businesses expect the Vietnamese tourism industry to continue improving service quality and maintaining affordable prices, as this is a competitive advantage that helps Vietnam attract international tourists. At the same time, it is proposed that Vietnam consider exempting visas for Australian tourists to increase attractiveness, as many destinations in the region such as Thailand, Singapore, Bali, etc., have already exempted visas for Australian visitors.
According to data from the National Tourism Administration, the Australian market has fully recovered and slightly increased (+2%) compared to 2019. In the first two months of the year, Vietnam welcomed 97,000 Australian visitors, ranking among the top 10 leading markets. Recently, during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Australia, the two countries upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In addition to the current good cooperation, both sides agreed to promote the signing of a cooperation agreement in the tourism sector, striving to place both countries among each other’s top tourism markets. This event opens up bright prospects for increased tourism exchanges between our country and Australia in the future.
@Thanhnien.vn
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Source: Vietnam Insider