Research and Markets: Vietnam Tourism Report Q4 2009

DUBLIN--(Business Wire)--
Research and Markets
(http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/f58c45/vietnam_tourism_re) has
announced the addition of the "Vietnam Tourism Report Q4 2009" report to their
offering.

This Vietnam Tourism Report provides industry professionals and strategists,
corporate analysts, tourism associations, government departments and regulatory
bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Vietnam's
tourism industry.

Tourist Arrivals Suffer In 2009 Figures released by the Vietnam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in August indicate that the industry is
suffering more than first expected. In the first seven months of the year,
tourist arrivals fell by 18.7% year-on-year (y-o-y), to 2.2mn. Arrivals in July
alone fell by 16% to 277,998. This followed minimal growth of 0.6% y-o-y in 2008
and indicates that Vietnam is suffering from a prolonged downturn in the
industry. While Vietnam, like many other countries, is suffering from the global
economic downturn, it is perhaps surprising that it is suffering such a major
decline in tourist arrivals. However, the global outbreak of the H1N1 (swine
flu) virus in April has hit the country hard, with more than 1,000 cases by
August. As a result, it seems that tourists have been discouraged from visiting
Vietnam. The publisher believes that tourist arrivals will begin to pick up
towards the end of the year, particularly around the end of year holiday season.
But with arrivals in the first seven months of the year being so poor, they are
revising their full-year 2009 forecast down to 3.82mn arrivals.

Industry Opens Up To Foreign Firms In a sign of the problems being experienced
by the domestic travel industry, the government has opened up the domestic
tourist market to foreign firms, albeit on a trial basis. From August 2009 until
December 2010, foreign companies that are part of a joint venture with
Vietnamese firms will be able to offer outbound tours and travel services from
Vietnam. Previously, foreign firms could arrange for tours within Vietnam but
not arrange tours starting in Vietnam to go on to another country. This should
increase interest in Vietnam's tourism industry among foreign travel agents, who
may now find it easier to book multi-leg tours. However, there are concerns that
the new regulations may increase competition for domestic firms, potentially
putting some out of business. It is for this reason that the new regulations are
on a trial basis only, and foreign firms must enter a joint venture with a
Vietnamese firm to be eligible.

Vietnam Airlines' Profit Slumps In H109 In line with the generally depressing
outlook for the Vietnamese tourism industry, state-owned carrier Vietnam
Airlines experienced a significant decrease in profit in H109. The airline's
pre-tax profit fell to VND28bn (US$1.6mn), a 77% fall y-o-y. Total revenue in
H109 fell to US$630mn. The airline said its performance had been adversely
affected by the global economic downturn and the outbreak of swine flu. The
downturn has largely been felt with international arrivals, with foreign
passengers declining by 11.8% y-o-y, to 1.5mn. In contrast, domestic tourism has
been resilient, with domestic passengers up by 8.8% y-o-y to 2.9mn. Despite this
sharp fall in profit, it is positive that the airline has remained in profit at
all, and the publisher views this as a reflection of its positive fundamentals.
The company remains confident and is using the downturn to reposition itself for
the expected industry recovery. To this end, it is continuing to expand its
fleet, having agreed to purchase 32 Airbus aircraft, 11 Boeing and 11 ATR 72s.

Key Topics Covered:

* Executive Summary
* SWOT Analysis
* Industry Forecast Scenario
* Market Overview - Travel
* Business Environment Ratings
* Currency Forecast
* Company Profiles
* Methodology

Companies Mentioned:

* Saigontourist,
* Vietnam Airlines,
* Huong Giang Tourist Company

For more information visit
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/f58c45/vietnam_tourism_re

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager,
press@researchandmarkets.com
U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907
Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

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