Why is Vietnam an unpopular country to visit among tourists?

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MojaveDan

Iâ€™m not sure whom you are talking to, but they seem to be unknowledgeable about the travel industry in Asia. The same goes for some of the answers you have already received.

The fact is Vietnam is one of the hottest vacation destinations in Asia. It is one of the cheapest places in the world to vacation at any level of accommodation. There are an abundance of things to see, do and visit. The weather allows for year-round tourism. Best of all, the Vietnamese people are incredibly friendly. The only thing that holds people back from thinking that Vietnam is terrible tourist destination is the stigma of a war that ended over 30 years ago. By the way, many of the historic Vietnam War locations are now popular tourist attractions.

Tourism in Vietnam has exploded the past few years and thereâ€™s nothing that can really stop further growth. Vietnamâ€™s government has dumped billions of dollars into their tourist industry and even passed laws protecting tourists and foreigners. Vietnam Airlines just purchased a handful of 787â€™s to start making non-stop flights from the U.S. to HCMC or Hanoi.

Vietnam is not just popular with the Viet Kieu. I've seen Tourists from Australia, Europe, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and many other countries while I was in Vietnam.

I have two uncles who were imprisoned in re-education camps for seven and eleven years respectively. They were beaten to near death. One had an eye ripped out. The other has permanent brain damage. Both of them have more reason than anyone I know for not ever visiting Vietnam. Yet, both have been vacationing there for years.

If you know anyone who thinks Vietnam is an unpopular tourist location, then you know someone who chooses to be ignorant by living in the past. Vietnam has become an incredible country with incredible people. Many of the regulars in this section of Yahoo Answers will agree with me on this.

Wounded Duck

Perhaps you are asking the wrong people! Viet Nam has a thriving tourist economy!

l d

There were lots of tourists during the 4 years that I was in Viet Nam - and I recall reading maybe a year ago that Viet Nam was top rated as a tourist destination - one of the categories was for food, and I believe, but don't recall what the other "high points" were.

You were born in the US, so you are asking Viet kieu - and they are probably slower to return to VN than VN war vets! And, unless you yourself have gone and spent some time there, you may very well NOT know what is going on in Viet Nam today. My relatives in the US, who are not too aware of what is happenout outside of the US, let alone in Viet Nam didn't realize that the country was at peace, didn't know/remember that reunification occured over 30 years ago - lots of il informed people walking around the US! There are special tours for US vets who have an interest in going back.

Anyway, communism is not an issue. And I will take VN over Thailand any time!

ong jon

i really dont agree w/ your premise, i think it gets more popular every year.. though from americans perspective it too far away and too expensive for plane fair.. i really dont think it will ever be a popular place for the average american who only gets 2 weeks vacation .. they will always most likely go to the Caribbean or mexico, or europe...also many americans still think of vn as a war and not a place...

Melanie B

People are closed minded about communist countries. They fail to see how beautiful the country is and that tourist are welcome. I myself will be going there next summer to visit my boyfriends family. I'm really looking forward to it.

Hersheybarrrr<3

Because people are stuck in the past. They need to get over it because truth is Vietnam is not a war zone anymore. Living in Vietnam DOES NOT mean u have to carry guns around for protection, or that you travel around by bycicle. Seriously, get a life. And COMMUNISM definitely has nothing to do with it. Vietnam is NOT a communist country anymore. Just to be clear. =] So i guess the reason for their answer not being Vietnam is that it's still developing, very quickly may i say, so some people (ignorant people, mostly) have no clue what Vietnam is or what to do there. And i'm sure in due time all this will change. Just wait and see.
By the way i just read that additional part of ur post...i think everyone's got their own opinions. As for South and North, they got their own beauty in their own way. Personally i prefer the South, where i'm livin. Ho Chi Minh city, to be exact. Streets are much bigger here and more modern, too, i suppose. The nightlife is awesome =] clubs and bars are opened 24/7 and people are really outgoing, if you're into those kinda stuff. Hanoi, the North, is more like, traditional, u know. Streets are smaller and buildings/architecture have that ancient style from the French colonial period. I'm not saying that Hanoi's boring or anything, but Ho Chi Minh city is definitely wilder. But then again, it all depends on your preference. Just don't judge the whole country by the opinions of a couple of people.

nguyenthanhtungtinbk

I agree with someone who said "The fact is Vietnam is one of the hottest vacation destinations in Asia" (recently) and someone who said that if you fly from the U.S. to Vietnam, the flight ticket is already expensive because the U.S and Vietnam are too far to each other (1/2 of the world equator). More important, there is no direct flight from the US to Vietnam I think (so the ticket price is more expensive). Even Vietnamese people, for this reason, if they have vacations, they are likely to choose the neighbour countries to visit (China, Thailand, Singapore, Hongkong ...) but not Europe or the U.S.

Besides, tourism in Vietnam has just developed in the years recently (together with the blooming economy), so that some people may not know clearly or haven't had chance to visit Vietnam. If you only watch movies or smt like that about Vietnam, I'm sure that you will misunderstand what really Vietnam is. Even your parent are Vietnamese but if you were born in another country and you haven't been to Vietnam then there are a lot of things changed, too ^_^

On the other hand, I think you grew up in the U.S where many people are still keeping the impression of the past (the war). The past is over man, get rid of it. I don't say what happened in the past was right or wrong but you should open your mind globally and if you have a chance to Vietnam, you will definitely change your mind I believe.

Vietnam is poor country, Vn didn't have great technology, and all that. That why people chose Japan and other, but VN economic start growing. Don't u see that Miss Universal Global 2008 went to VN to do their show so u can tell 1 day VN will be popular.

Kathy B

DUDE thats the same thing with me.
im vietnamese too..but i dont know what happened either.
people probably dont really visit vietnam isbecause of the war thing mayb and like they dont hav a whole lot of good attractions i should say unlike some other asian countries but idk .

Dr. Dick Bird, PhD

vietnam is pretty cool i have had some boyfriends there. If you goto vietnam you must try the Pho Dac Biet

unnga

A typical American regards the homeland as the 'world' and for many its the only country they will ever visit. They have no idea what Asia is except for the fast food experience in a Japanese, Korean or Chinese restuarant. Vietnam is far below everyone's radar.

Anyway Vietnam sucks! I asked tourists who have been there and most remained silent, preferring not to say anything bad.

I have been to Hanoi and Saigon. Both cities are screeching with millions of motorcycles that now spill over to the sidewalks. The only way to cross the road is to do it without looking and hope no one hit you. Luckily Vietnamese are physically adept and have the crazy ability to avoid nasty accidents. There are pickpockets everywhere and residents would tell you to grip your camera tightly. Taxis are rigged especially the small ones which tourists take, thinking its cheaper.

Other than that Vietnam would be incredibly beautiful if you visit the countryside. Hopefully you will do the trip one day.

YahooAnswers

communism?

Lucy_n_tha_sky

Well for starters they are communist. They have no main attractions, they are less modern then Thailand, and there is the whole War history there.

ya, remember that war the US lost - did u sleep during that History class?

Xtreme Gamer

uh, you know, the vietnam war, the vietcong? lots o ppl died over there?

Franky

They think about it as a lost of war. Good Moooorning Vietnaaaaam, okay a lot of men lost their life there.
That should be the same with Korea.

Franky

annihalus

There's nothing there...it's boring and stupid. Pointless country in my opinion.

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