VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam has become the fastest-growing market for Japan and South Korea’s tourism.

Vietnam is the fastest growing market for South Korea's tourism

According to KTO (Korea Tourism Organization), by the end of April, 118,000 Vietnamese had traveled South Korea, a sharp increase of 33.5 percent over the same period last year.

The number of Vietnamese travelers to Japan is also on the rise with 86,300 people entering the country in the first three months of the year, an increase of 16.3 percent. 

The Japanese tourism promotion agency has not released a report about the number of Vietnamese travelers coming in April. 

However, travel firms said that this must be a high figure, because Vietnamese flocked to Japan in the month to enjoy sakura. Some firms organized tours with chartered flights, attracting more travelers.

About 310,000 Vietnamese traveled Japan in 2017, up by 32 percent over 2016. The growth rate of travelers was 39 percent, the highest growth rate in South East Asia. 

In 2015, Japan added Vietnam to the list of 20 most potential tourism markets and began looser visa policies to create more favorable conditions for Vietnamese to come to Japan.

In early 2017, the Japan Tourism Promotion Agency and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) signed an MOU on cooperation in tourism promotion. Vietnam hopes to receive 740,000 Japanese travelers in 2018 while Japan hopes for 500,000 Vietnamese.

A senior executive of a travel firm said Vietnamese now target Japan and South Korea because Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia have become too familiar and they want new destinations.

In the past, few travelers chose to go to Japan and South Korea because of high tour fees. However, the number of travelers has increased thanks to improvement in Vietnamese income.

Meanwhile, Japanese and South Korean tourism promotion agencies, realizing the increasingly high prospects from Vietnam, have been taking action to support Vietnamese travelers. With support, entry procedures have become more simple, while tour fees have decreased.

According to Nguyen Thu Ha from KTO, the tour fee for Vietnamese travelers to South Korea is several million dong cheaper than that of five years ago.

Previously, a six-day tour to South Korea cost VND19-20 million. But now, one would have to pay VND15 million if flying with Vietnam Airlines, and VND12 million with budget airlines.

“Vietnam was the fastest growing market in 2017. Therefore, we hope we can attract 400,000 Vietnamese travelers this year. But the final figure may be even higher,” Ha said, adding that Vietnamese mostly go to South Korea in summer.

In 2017, South Korea received 323,000 Vietnamese travelers, an increase of 28.8 percent over 2016.

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