HCM City: Seminar seeks ways to attract more Malaysian visitors

According to Euromonitor International, Malaysians spend big on shopping on overseas trips with over 25 percent of their total travel expenses that include air tickets, leisure activities, foods and accommodations. 

That news is a great opportunity for Vietnam’s tourism industry, said Dinh Ngoc Duc, Director of the market department at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Many tourist destinations in Vietnam, however, failed to satisfy the Malaysian tourists’ high demand for shopping.

Speaking at the event, director of Malaysia’s Travel Promotion Department in HCM City Abdul Hadi Che Man explained that a majority of Malaysians are Muslim who must strictly adhere to Halal guidelines in terms of foods, drinks and religious practice even when travelling abroad. But not many hotels and restaurants in Vietnam are able to meet such needs, he noted.

Delegates to the seminar suggested that Vietnamese tour operators need to better understand needs and habits of Malaysians to better serve them, for example, there should be more shopping centres and restaurants with Halal certificates and more tour guides who have good understanding of the needs of Muslim visitors.

The city’s tourism should offer more conveniences for Malaysian guests such as prayer rooms at international airports, Halal restaurants at hotels and shopping malls, and tour packages inclusive of Halal meals, Abdul Hadi Che Man said.

Malaysia was on the top 10 Asian tourist markets for Vietnam in the first eight months of 2017. Vietnam welcomed over 295,000 Malaysians during the reviewed period, up 17.1 percent from the same period last year and accounting for 3.48 percent of the country’s total international tourist arrivals.-