![]() ![]() ![]() However, as the pandemic persisted and many tourism workers found new career paths, there was a risk of losing a generation of workers along with a huge volume of institutional memory. And, as their operations scaled up, so too did their customer service teams – and this meant hiring vast numbers of workers with foreign language skills.Īt the time, this was somewhat fortuitous as it meant employers could avoid laying off workers, and workers were not out of work for too long. Technology companies in Vietnam were making bank selling video games, mobile phone applications, and a broad range of software online to people in lockdown all around the world. ![]() While tourism was in decline, cross-border digital services were on the way up. This was, however, somewhat serendipitous. Specifically, with international arrivals more or less gone, foreign language skills, which had been a huge selling point for Vietnam’s tourism workers, were no longer needed. This means that cultural traditions and practices that are a novelty for foreign tourists are just a normal part of everyday life.Īs a result, the tourism sector had to pivot. Most notably, they have an average spend of about US$49 a day whereas foreign tourists typically spend more than double that – at an estimated US$117/day.įurthermore, not only do Vietnamese tourists spend less, they also speak the native language and have an in-depth understanding of the locations they visit. With foreign tourists out of the equation, Vietnam’s tourism enterprises swiftly shifted their focus to domestic travelers.īut the Vietnamese do not travel like their foreign counterparts. When the cities opened up again after that first, brief initial lockdown, the tourism landscape had changed considerably. ![]() So what happened? How did it happen? What’s next? And where are the opportunities for foreign firms? There was a pivot to domestic tourism Flights were grounded, restaurants were shut, and tourist hotspots like Hanoi’s Turtle Lake and Ho Chi Minh City’s Beer Street were closed for business.īut whereas that first initial lockdown was only brief for most businesses – in some places just a few weeks – for the tourism sector it was the start of a long period of layoffs, bankruptcies, and financial pain that has still not come to an end. In fact, it was one of the first countries to make the move but was quickly followed by many others. This article explores the reasons why, what could happen next, and how foreign companies could potentially benefit.Īs soon as it became clear that COVID-19 wasn’t just another cold but rather the makings of a devastating pandemic, Vietnam closed its borders. While Vietnam’s regional tourism peers have rebounded to around 25 percent of their pre-pandemic tourist trade in 2022, Vietnam has fallen behind. ![]()
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