Destinations like Penang (pictured) are beginning to tap opportunities in the Vietnam outbound market
Reporting by Mimi Hudoyo, S Puvaneswary, Marissa Carruthers and Pamela Chow
Bolstered by growing intra-region connectivity and a strong economy,Vietnam is emerging as a source market, with regional NTOs and touroperators training their sights and developing strategies to woo moreVietnamese travellers to their shores.
The MasterCard Future of Outbound Travel in Asia Pacific Report, 2016-2021 revealed that Vietnam’s CAGR growth in outbound travel is expected to reach 7.5 million trips by 2021.
Abdul Hadi Che Man, director of Tourism Malaysia in Vietnam, told TTG Asia: “Vietnam is a very fast-growing market for Malaysia. UntilSeptember 2017, arrivals grew by 54 per cent and daily expenditureincreased 49 per cent from RM399 (US$97) to RM594.
He added: “Last year set high expectations but we will push forcontinual growth this year. We will work closely with our travel agentpartners to explore the possibility of working with OTAs to attract more FITs.”
Trade players in Malaysia attribute the growing air connections fromVietnam as a key factor to driving arrivals. Penang, for instance, is akey beneficiary of enhanced air links from Vietnam.
AirAsia began four-times-weekly flights between Penang and Hanoi from July 2018, in addition to stepping up frequencies between Ho Chi MinhCity and Penang from four-times-weekly to daily since last March.
With improved air accessibility, Penang Global Tourism is workingwith AirAsia on joint tacticals to promote the state, and will alsoexhibit at the upcoming Viet Nam International Travel Mart in Hanoi this March and the 15th International Travel Expo in Ho Chi Minh City,according to Ooi Chok Yan, CEO, Penang Global Tourism.
For Indonesia, the average 10 per cent growth posted for Vietnam inrecent years makes it a significant market for the archipelago, even asnumbers are still small at present.
Visitor arrivals from Vietnam to Indonesia in 2017 totalled 77,466,and the number is expected to reach 100,000 in 2018 (full yearstatistics for 2018 not yet available at press time).
While Vietnamese outbound traffic to Malaysia has been aided byrising air links, Indonesia is hampered by the lack of directconnections. Currently, the only direct flight is operated by VietnamAirlines between Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta.
Heri Hermawan, head of marketing division – Indochina, Ministry ofTourism, Indonesia, said: “Vietnam has the potential to become a primary market (in South-east Asia). Vietnamese interest in Indonesia is high,but so far it is still Bali. The lack of direct flights is an issue.”
Vietnam has emerged as a promising market in Singapore too. In 2017,Vietnam broke into Singapore’s top 10 source markets with a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent, reaching 531,000 arrivals and rivallingarrival volume from Thailand.
More recently, from January-November 2018, the market posted thehighest year-on-year percentage growth of all South-east Asian nationsin arrival numbers to Singapore. It registered a 12.4 per cent increase, seconded by Brunei at 11.8 per cent.
Several ATF sellers that TTG Asia spoke with are keen to woo thisemerging market, which is still largely characterised by groups.
Irwan Raman, director of business development, Panorama DestinationIndonesia, shared: “We have a marketing representative in Vietnam whosupports us to penetrate the market beyond Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi,such as to Danang, and introduce new destinations.”
Adam Kamal, general manager, Tour East Malaysia, said: “While KualaLumpur and Penang are still main draws, this year we are trying topromote Johor Bahru with overland transfers to Singapore.”
The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur, senior director of sales &marketing, M Manimaran, said: “At this show, we hope to connect withVietnamese outbound agents selling golfing tours as we have two, 18-hole championship golf courses within the resort.
“Our property is a five-minute drive to Ara Damansara Medical Centre, so medical tourism is another market we are exploring with our local travel partners.”
Source: TTG Asia
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Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), established in 2009 under the purview of the Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia, is entrusted with developing and nurturing the “Malaysia Healthcare” brand. MHTC enhances, coordinates, and promotes Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry by fostering industry collaborations and building valuable public-private partnerships both domestically and internationally. With 80 member hospitals nationwide, MHTC continues to elevate the healthcare travel ecosystem through strong branding, seamless patient experiences, and strategic market initiatives. In line with these efforts, MHTC is spearheading the Malaysia Year of Medical Tourism (MYMT) 2026, the nation’s first dedicated year to celebrate and advance healthcare travel. MYMT 2026 serves as a milestone initiative to showcase Malaysia’s world-class healthcare offerings, strengthen its position as the premier global healthcare destination, and highlight the industry’s significant contribution to the national economy. More information can be found at https://www.mhtc.org.my/.
