Press Release: Ho Chi Minh City Unveils Global Traveler Insights: A Dynamic Destination with Diverse Experiences
Ho Chi Minh City, December 2, 2025 – The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center (HTPC), under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in collaboration with The Outbox Company, a leading Asia-based market research and data analytics firm specializing in tourism and hospitality, officially announced the first results of the Ho Chi Minh City Global Traveler Barometer (HCMC GTB). This is Vietnam’s first locally developed system designed to monitor and forecast international traveler trends, supporting the city in enhancing destination promotion and strengthening its competitive advantage through data-driven insights.
The first research wave was conducted in August and September 2025 across 13 key international markets grouped into seven regional clusters, with a sample size of 3,000 respondents. The results present a positive outlook for outbound travel demand in 2025–2026 and provide essential insights to guide Ho Chi Minh City’s international tourism strategy during this period.
Ms. Nguyen Cam Tu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center, stated:
“The Ho Chi Minh City Global Traveler Barometer is an important advancement in the city’s destination management efforts. It is the first time Ho Chi Minh City possesses a standardized and continuously updated system for market monitoring and analysis. Through our collaboration with a regional leader in traveler behavior research and tourism market analytics, we have developed a set of market-tracking indicators that align with the characteristics of Ho Chi Minh City. This ensures the reliability and practical applicability of the data for both public agencies and tourism businesses. The initial findings allow us to better understand the differences between markets and to shape more effective and timely strategies in a rapidly changing environment.”
Below are selected key findings from the Ho Chi Minh City Global Traveler Barometer 2025 – Wave 1:
Market Potential and International Travel Demand
HCMC GTB data shows that most markets demonstrate a relatively high readiness to travel internationally in the next six months. Southeast Asia leads with 94.3% of travelers stating they are certain to travel abroad. South Korea and China also record high levels of readiness, reflecting the strong demand for outbound travel in these markets.
In contrast, Japan has the lowest readiness level at 57.7%. The significant gap between Japan and other Asian markets indicates a slower rebound in outbound travel demand and highlights a notable divergence within the region.
Regarding destination choices for upcoming trips, Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian destinations remain the most popular, with Japan, South Korea and Thailand frequently appearing among the top priorities. Notably, Vietnam ranks second among South Korean travelers, highlighting its competitive position among leading destinations in the region.
These insights suggest a positive outlook for Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism sector in late 2025 and early 2026, as most of the city’s key source markets are showing high travel readiness levels, especially the intraregional markets. Travel & hospitality businesses in the city can proactively prepare their operational plans, visitor services, product enhancements, and overall readiness to welcome travelers, setting themselves up early for a strong upcoming peak season.
Evolving Travel Behavior Toward Independent and Experience-Focused Journeys
Independent travel accounts for 73.7%, reaffirming travelers’ preference for autonomy, flexibility, and personalized experiences. Within this context, safety and security (42.6%), reasonable costs (39.1%), and favorable weather conditions (38.5%) are the three most influential factors in destination selection, reflecting a balance between engaging experiences and peace of mind. Planning processes are shaped by multiple information sources, with recommendations from friends and family (47.2%), travel review websites (45%), and social media platforms (44.5%) playing a major role. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism will also gradually shift and strengthen its destination marketing and communications efforts toward B2C audiences, in order to keep pace with the changing behaviors of international travelers.
Accommodation is the largest budget allocation within overall trip planning, highlighting its role in shaping the overall travel experience. This priority is reflected in travelers’ choices of lodging types. 4–5-star hotels hold the largest share at 45.8%, particularly favored by Chinese travelers at 61.8%. 2–3-star hotels rank second and are the most preferred option among Japanese travelers at 38.7%.
Trip duration most commonly ranges from 5 to 7nights, while travelers from Australia, North America, and Western Europe tend to stay abroad for longer periods.
Ho Chi Minh City Strengthens Its Position as a Dynamic Destination in the Region
HCMC GTB findings show that Ho Chi Minh City is among the most recognized destinations in Southeast Asia, Australia and South Korea. The city maintains a strong position within the region’s urban destination choices, ranking just behind major tourism hubs such as Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, thereby reinforcing its status as one of Vietnam’s most important international destinations.
Survey findings indicate a pronounced rise in travel intent to Ho Chi Minh City during the final months of the year and into January, underscoring a strategically significant period for market promotion. Early recognition of this peak window provides destination managers and tourism businesses with a data-driven basis to refine operational planning, allocate resources more effectively, and enhance overall service readiness.
The city’s three core tourism pillars – culinary offerings, scenery and experiences – receive relatively consistent ratings, ranging from 2.9 to 3.0 on a five-point scale. This indicates clear awareness and positive perceptions among travelers regarding the elements that define the city’s identity.
Overall, Ho Chi Minh City is perceived as vibrant, culturally rich and full of distinctive experiences, with appealing scenery and friendly residents. These attributes form a solid foundation for the city to continue building a differentiated destination brand strategy in the time ahead, rooted in its unique cultural identity, while intensifying promotion efforts in key markets and innovating its marketing and communications approach to further elevate Ho Chi Minh City’s position in the region.
Detailed information and key data from the HCMC Global Traveler Barometer 2025 are summarized in the infographic available here.
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About the Ho Chi Minh City Global Traveler Barometer
The Ho Chi Minh City Global Traveler Barometer (HCMC GTB) is a traveler intelligence system monitoring the city’s top priority markets, jointly developed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and The Outbox Company.
HCMC GTB enables Ho Chi Minh City to gain deeper insights into traveler motivations, intentions, and behaviors from key source markets while providing early signals for trend forecasting and measuring the effectiveness of the city’s tourism branding across markets.
Data is structured into measurable indicators and updated every six months, enhancing the city’s capacity to understand global travel patterns and improving the effectiveness of its international tourism promotion efforts.
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About Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center (HTPC)
The Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center is a unit under the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, entrusted with the mission of leading, advising, and implementing tourism promotion and marketing initiatives for the city. The Center plays a key role in strengthening the positioning of Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism brand on the global map.
To explore more about Ho Chi Minh City tourism, please visit:
Website: www.visithcmc.vn
Instagram: @visit.hochiminhcity
Facebook: @visitvibranthochiminhcity
LinkedIn: Vibrant Ho Chi Minh City
TikTok: @visithcmc
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The Outbox Company
The Outbox Company is a pioneering tourism market research and data analytics firm in Vietnam, operating across Asia with a focus on the hospitality and tourism sectors.
With deep insights into regional travelers, The Outbox Company is proud to support partners and clients in effectively connecting with their target audiences through comprehensive market data solutions as well as enhanced, tailor-made analytics designed for specific business needs.
Backed by a strong track record and an unwavering commitment to the highest quality standards, Outbox is a trusted partner for destinations and tourism businesses across the region in their digital transformation journey, helping shape a new future for Asia’s tourism industry.
To learn more about Outbox, please visit: https://the-outbox.com/.
