Vietnamese thirst for overseas travel grows in tandem with expanding economy: Visa

Vietnamese people are expected to take more trips abroad and increase their spending while overseas thanks to smooth economic expansion, according to a new study by global payments firm Visa.

The Visa Global Travel Intentions (GTI) Study, which analyzed international travel trends and the behavior of more than 15,000 global travelers from more than 27 countries and territories, shows that Vietnamese travelers are expected to take on average nearly five trips abroad in the next two years, up from 3.5 trips in the last two years.

Vietnamese travelers are also expected to spend more on their trips overseas. Each traveler is expected to spend an average of $1,100 per trip, up from $880.

Up to 74 percent of travelers use credit or debit cards while booking their trips, but the majority prefer to carry foreign currency when they arrive at their destinations, according to Visa. 

The average time spent overseas by Vietnamese travelers was four nights per trip over the past two years, much lower than the Asia-Pacific average of seven nights. They also chose destinations that were, on average, 4.5 hours travel time away.

Thailand, South Korea, Japan and Singapore were the most visited countries. Intra-region travel dominated, with 91 percent of Vietnamese travelers visiting destinations in Asia in the past two years. They are likely to continue to be well patronized over the next two years, with the U.S emerging in the top five.

“As Vietnam’s economy grows, and an increasing number of citizens join the ranks of the global middle and upper classes, more people are going to take an interest in traveling the world,” said Sean Preston, Visa country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

According to Mastercard, Vietnam has the second fastest growing outbound market in the Asia Pacific region, after Myanmar, with projected annual growth of 9.5 percent between 2016 and 2021.

Eric Schneider, senior vice president, Asia Pacific, Mastercard Advisors, said the burgeoning middle class is driving the growth of outbound travel in Asia Pacific, including Vietnam, along with other trends such as the emergence of the Asian millennial traveler, and on the other end of the spectrum, the senior traveler, as well as new technology and infrastructure developments. Asia Pacific travelers will continue to fuel global tourism growth in the years to come, providing vast opportunities for businesses to benefit through the development of products and solutions that seek to improve their overall travel experiences.

Mastercard forecast that some 7.5 million Vietnamese travelers will venture outside the country in 2021, increasing from only 4.8 million in 2016.