This was the result of a recent Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey discussed at a workshop on trends in international tourism to Vietnam which was held in Hanoi on January 12.

Forecasts for the nation's tourism sector in 2012 predict that 24 percent of inbound travellers to Vietnam will come from Singapore and Thailand (12 percent from each country), followed by Australia, which will account for 10 percent. The survey also highlighted there will be a growing number of tourists from the RoK.

Natural scenery, good tour deals and promotions as well as political stability were cited as the key factors for visiting Vietnam over the next two years. While in Vietnam, future inbound travellers surveyed about their travel plans said they planned to enjoy outdoor activities, take food tours to explore the local cuisine and experience the local nightlife.

Lorijon Bacchi, Visa card country manager for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, said that with tourism emerging as one of Vietnam's key economic drivers, the survey results came at an idea time to show where visitors to Vietnam would be coming from and what motivates them to choose particular destinations.

"Using data from the 2011 Visa survey, the Vietnamese tourism industry can now identify opportunities to attract more tourists based specifically on inbound traveller preferences," said Bacchi.

The Visa survey questioned over 11,000 travellers across 23 countries about their travel plans and preferences in the coming years. A large number of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay a premium for food (64 percent), 65 percent want to visit exotic destinations and 63 percent said they wanted to experience the local culture. A wide variety of food and dining options and lower travelling costs were also cited as key reasons for future inbound travel decisions. Bacchi said most travellers to Vietnam had already travelled to the popular Asian destination of Hong Kong and many had also previously visited mainland China and Malaysia.

Vietnam is most likely to host mainly first time visitors. In the past travelers to the country said the variety of food was a key reason for their visit, while future travellers said they would revisit a place for its low cost, and beautiful natural scenery was mentioned by both past and future tourists. 

Hoang Thi Diep, vice chairperson of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said that the survey is a valuable resource and the VNAT gained some useful insights. Some of the findings on the most popular sources of information for future inbound travellers indicated the importance of word-of-mouth recommendations, while information on hotel and tour agency websites was also a key factor in fostering tourism. The VNAT and Visa are considering cooperating and sharing regular information to further promote Vietnam to international tourists.