TOURISM & AVIATION ADAPT TO DOUBLE SHOCK

Vietnam's tourism and aviation sectors are under mounting pressure as surging fuel prices disrupt flight operations and trigger a wave of cancellations during peak travel season. Hoang Oanh reports.

- Hoang Oanh reports.

At a seminar on aviation and tourism responses to fuel volatility held at the end of March, Ha Van Sieu, deputy director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), said the industries entered 2026 on a positive trajectory, but the prolonged Middle East conflict since late February has caused widespread disruption, significantly increasing input costs for both tour packages and airfares.

"The conflict has significantly affected tourist flows from the Middle East, Europe, and North America. In the context of global instability, Vietnam still holds an advantage thanks to its relatively resilient market structure, with Northeast Asia accounting for 55 per cent and ASEAN around 20 per cent, opening up opportunities to sustain growth if leveraged effectively," Sieu said.

According to data from the VNAT, Vietnam welcomed nearly 4.7 million international visitor arrivals in the first three months of the year, up 18.1 per cent on-year. The market structure continues to show the pivotal role of the Asian region, with approximately 3.4 million arrivals, accounting for 73 per cent of the total number of visitors.

In response to the unrest in the Middle East, the department has sent a letter to international travel service businesses, requesting them to temporarily suspend tours to dangerous conflict zones and to implement citizen protection measures if necessary.

"The overarching principle of the tourism industry is not to compromise on service quality or personnel, but to promote the application of technology, optimise experiences, and leverage existing advantages to create new products that are suitable for the market context," Sieu said. "In the long term, this is an opportunity to restructure and improve the quality of tourism products."