Vietnamese spend big on tourism: Going to Japan to buy rice cookers

Japan is one of the most popular destinations for Vietnamese people. In the photo: a group of Vietnamese tourists visiting Naritasan Temple in Tokyo. Photo: TTD

After announcing a new tour for summer 2018 with the Azerbaijan - Georgia route for 7 days and 6 nights, with tour prices starting from 43 million VND/person or more, Vietravel Tourism Company had to increase the number of departure tours compared to the plan due to the large number of people booking tours "right away".

Mr. Tran Doan The Duy, deputy general director of Vietravel, said that travel companies must always launch new products and new routes because Vietnamese people get bored of traveling very quickly, like to go on new tours, and rarely return to places they have been to.

Race to travel abroad

In 2017, in addition to tours to countries in the ASEAN region, the number of customers buying tours from this company to Taiwan (China) increased by 170%, and the number of customers going on tours to Korea and Japan also increased by over 30%.

Mr. Tran The Dung, deputy general director of Fiditour, also said that in recent years, the number of Vietnamese people traveling abroad registered through this company has been increasing, with an average increase of about 25-30% compared to the previous year.

Markets considered "expensive" such as the US, Europe, Australia... have an average increase of about 30%/year in customers at companies.

Data from the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam (KTO) also shows that Vietnamese visitors to Korea in 2017 reached more than 330,000, an increase of nearly 30% compared to the previous year, ranking 8th among markets with visitors to Korea.

According to travel companies, extroverted mentality, desire to explore different cultures, reasonable tour prices, diverse tourist attractions, less chance of being overcharged, especially during peak season, increasingly open visa policies... are factors that make the wealthy Vietnamese class prioritize choosing foreign tours.

Many Vietnamese travel agencies admit that compared to domestic tourism, foreign tours are attractive due to good service, many entertainment and shopping programs, and relatively stable tour prices, with little seasonal price increase.

A group of Vietnamese family tourists visit the village of long-necked people in Chiang Mai (northwest Thailand). Photo: TTD

Mr. Tran Van Long, General Director of Viet Tourism Company, said that Vietnamese tourists are always among the top potential customers of countries in the region because they often spend more than 1,000 USD/person shopping in markets such as Singapore, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, etc.

Spend big on travel

Spending levels will be much higher if tourists go on tours in European countries, many of whom "buy" goods to sell.

Nielsen's survey also showed that nearly half of Vietnamese online shoppers chose foreign services, with tourism services ranking fourth among the industries that Vietnamese people searched for from abroad.

According to Mr. Tran The Dung, this company's survey shows that the average spending level during a tour by Vietnamese tourists is currently around 800 - 900 USD/person, even up to 1,200 - 1,500 USD/person in high-end markets, a sharp increase compared to the spending level of around 500 USD/person 3 years ago.

In addition to the stable quality and reasonable prices of overseas tour services, Vietnamese tourists spend a lot of money on shopping because foreign goods are often cheaper in Vietnam, and there is no need to worry about counterfeit goods.

Source: VISA - Graphics: TAN DAT

With more than 8 years of experience as a tour guide, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hung said that most Vietnamese people like to take "check-in" photos to prove that they have been there, or find crowded places with shopping, food and as little walking as possible, they are very reluctant to exercise.

Travel to Japan to buy rice cooker

"In some tours, we organize walking tours, if the road is a bit steep or difficult, customers will immediately complain. Meanwhile, if the tour does not have shopping or for some reason customers cannot buy anything, we will receive a lot of complaints" - Mr. Hung said.

There is no shortage of many items in Vietnam, but Vietnamese customers still buy them with the mentality of "buying at the source and having the item to bring home".

For example, when going to Japan, Vietnamese customers often buy domestic electronic products such as rice cookers, irons... Even though Japanese electronic products use 110V voltage, many customers are willing to spend 15-18 million to buy a rice cooker.

There is a group of Vietnamese tourists who went to Japan to buy smart toilet lids even though this product is not lacking in Vietnam, at a cheaper price.

"Someone came to the supermarket and took nearly 30 of them, and I didn't know how to arrange them," said Mr. Hung.

According to Mr. Jimmy Vu - Marketing Director of Benthanh Tourist, many years of experience as a tour guide shows that Vietnamese people who go shopping often buy promotional clothes, cosmetics...

If they go to Europe, they will buy branded goods like LV, Hermes... even though these stores limit customers and they have to wait in line, they are still patient.

If going to the US, after "entering" the outlets, customers will definitely have to buy more suitcases to bring back goods, cosmetics, clothes, shoes. In Korea, Vietnamese customers will buy ginseng like buying... radishes. In Australia, Vietnamese customers focus on buying honey, functional foods, buying collagen...

Most Vietnamese tourists have the mentality that when they go abroad, they have to shop, even though they often buy things not for personal use. Therefore, when designing foreign tours for customers, companies often have to consider several or more shopping locations.