[HO CHI MINH CITY] Vietnam’s tourism industry is losing steam as high costs and stiff competition throw up challenges to local market participants. This is even as tourist arrivals remain below what they were before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

Tran Mai Anh, chief executive of Babylon M, a spa service provider to hotels, said that average room rates were between 70 and 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

“Vietnamese tourism has not fully overcome the crisis period yet and (hoteliers) need to vie with each other for every single guest,” Anh said. “Hotels and F&B services are returning extensively this year and looking to provide new services, adopt technologies, implement infrastructure upgrades or offer discounts to lure customers back.”