Agoda: Young Vietnamese starting to travel

Photo: Viet Tuan

The number of Vietnamese travelers aged 25-34 has started to increase compared to the previous generation, a recent survey by global digital travel platform Agoda found.

The “Well Traveled Survey” reveals travel trend comparisons by gender and age for countries in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, the UK, and the US.

It shows that about 30 per cent of Vietnamese have never traveled overseas, compared to a global rate of 18 per cent. Twenty-nine per cent of people in the UK, the US, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia have never been overseas.

Globally, 27 per cent of 18 to 24-years-old have never traveled, with those from China, Vietnam and Indonesia standing at 49 per cent, 45 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively.

However, in the 25-34 age group, where the global average is 19 per cent, Vietnam is pushed out of the bottom three by the US. Among 45-54 years old, 86 per cent have traveled abroad, while 81 per cent of the 25-34 age group have traveled to other countries.

While it seems that Gen Z and Millennials are yet to have the opportunity to travel as extensively abroad as other age groups, the gap between those who have never traveled internationally is shrinking fast.

It will be exciting to see the potential cultural and socioeconomic gains once those from China, Vietnam and Indonesia start traveling more, according to Mr. Timothy Hughes, Vice President of Corporate Development at Agoda.

The survey also found that almost seven out of ten people have visited up to ten countries (68 per cent), with Middle Eastern travelers from the UAE (92 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (82 per cent) in the lead, followed by Thailand (76 per cent), Malaysia (75 per cent), and Japan (71 per cent).

The UK has the largest proportion who have traveled to more than 31 destinations (5 per cent), followed by Australia (4 per cent), Thailand (3 per cent), and the US (2 per cent).

In Asia-Pacific, more Malaysians have traveled to more than ten countries (11 per cent), than Thais (8 per cent), Indonesians (2 per cent), and Vietnamese (1 per cent).

More interestingly, there is no gender barrier in travel. Nineteen per cent of women have never traveled outside of their home country versus 17 per cent of men.

Only the US, Vietnam and Indonesia showed significant differences in percentages of males and females traveling, with 66 per cent of females versus 76 per cent of males in the US having traveled internationally at least once, and 67 per cent of females and 74 per cent of males in Vietnam.

There is an equal percentage of men and women in Vietnam that have been to six to ten countries (5 per cent). Indonesia bucks the trend, with 72 per cent of women having traveled internationally, compared to only 65 per cent of men.