Vietnam is preparing to welcome waves of Russian to enter Vietnam tourism market, set up tour operator company and also conduct M&A activity in tourism industry.
Currently, there were complicated situations occurred in the favorite destinations of Russian tourists such as Egypt, Turkey and Goa of India, the Russian Government recommend, forbid or even stop the tours and flights to these destinations. Vietnam, Cuba and China have been recommended as safe destinations for Russian citizens to travel.
The A321 of Kogalymavia Airlines (Russia) had an accident in the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) on October 31st killed 224 people on the flight. The Security Agency of the Russian Federation determined that this is a terrorist attack after finding traces of explosives in the debris. Soon after, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the suspension of all flights from Russia to Egypt.
On November 11th, Russia officially banned all aircraft of the national airline of Egypt (Egypt Air) and advised their citizens should not come here. This led the Egyptian tourism industry hit hard. According to Al-Ahram newspaper in Arabic of Egypt, there were 72,000 Russian tourists have left this country after the tragedy. Egyptian Tourism Minister predicted that in the last 3 months of 2015, their tourism industry could suffer over 820 million USD losses.
Goa, a state in India is the favorite destination of Russians in the new year holiday continues to go to “blacklist” due to threats to local security problems as well as the increase in prices at tourist sites.
The crisis started in 2014 when the Ruble devaluation, the number of Russian tourists travel to Goa halved. The number of 2016 will continue to decline. The negative impacts caused Transaero Airlines, which often serving 50% of guests are Russians goes bankruptcy. According to statistics, Russian tourists accounted for nearly 50% of foreign visitors to Goa, with nearly 250,000 visitors in 2013.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the House of Russia published a list of the safe destinations, which encouraging its citizens to come after a series of favorite destinations are included in the “blacklist”. In the three alternative candidates, there was Vietnam.
At the Russia – Vietnam business forum occurred last November in Moscow, Russia suggested that Vietnam should prepare to welcome waves of tourist to come here after many difficulties in Egypt. Moreover, Vietnam should improve the mechanisms to support the Russian tour operators to enter the Vietnam tour market.
This is good sign for Vietnam’s tourism industry after the number of Russian tourists has reduced from the end of 2014 due to the Ruble devaluation causing them to tighten spending. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, as of November 2015, there are 297,384 Russian visitors come to Vietnam, reached only 90% compared to the same period last year. However, from October, the number of Russian arrivals to Vietnam has increased slightly.
The high season of Russian for traditional wintering lasts from October to the end of March next year. Therefore, it is time for Vietnam to attract the large number of tourists coming from Russia. Moreover, it is particularly advantageous in the context of many favorite destinations of the Russian are no longer safe and Vietnam is recommended by the Russian Government.
Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.
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