Travellers want to engage in positive practices, including wellness activities, contributing to local communities, and minimising their impact on the environment.

Although several major international markets have already reached performances similar to 2019 levels, Southeast Asian markets have only 70% of the 2019 level. Before the pandemic, China was the largest outbound travel market in the world, with as many as 150 million overseas trips in 2019. Much of the recovery in Southeast Asia will depend on the opening of China, and Viet Nam is no exception.

Viet Nam has only achieved 60% of the 2019 occupancy level, and the return of international guests was underwhelming in 11M/2022 with only 2.95 million arrivals.  Without Chinese travellers, South Korea has become Viet Nam’s largest source of international arrivals; in 11M/2022, they accounted for 764,000 arrivals or 26% of international arrivals. There have been strong upticks from new source markets like India with 109,000 arrivals between January and November, with 27,000 arrivals in November alone, increasing 50% compared to the same period in 2019.

Domestic demand is driving tourism recovery in Viet Nam. By November, there were 96.3 million domestic arrivals, exceeding the 85 million in 2019.

Mr Mauro Gasparotti, Director of Savills Hotels Asia Pacific commented: “Operations are still fragmented in Viet Nam and certain locations perform better than others. The recovery of coastal resorts has been slower than anticipated, especially for those that rely on international demand. For example, Nha Trang – Cam Ranh and Da Nang have only achieved 50% of 2019 occupancy levels. Several hotels in Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi have recovered well with encouraging results from business travellers, long-term guests, and MICE groups. However, room rates in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City are still 15% to 20% less than in 2019. Upscale to luxury properties have recovered better. The luxury segment was resilient throughout the pandemic and continues to perform well, with rate recovery outperforming the overall market. With the announced resumption of air services from China, Viet Nam’s coastal destinations that are heavily reliant on international tourists could anticipate stronger demand rebound in 2023.”