The advent of the Internet has brought about a revolution on how travelers plan their trips. Recently, increasing numbers of travelers use the Internet in setting their travel itineraries. Studies have shown that searching for travel-related information is among the most popular online activities while a significant portion of total online spending is spent on online travel planning activities which includes hotel reservations and tour package purchases.

A report released by Euromonitor International showed that online hotel room booking accounted for 35 percent of the total rooms sold during the previous 2 years, while the figure was 20 percent in Australia. Clearly, while it is not cutting into the greater majority of bookings, this phenomenon is touching a significant portion of the market.

The convenience offered by online booking is seen as the utmost reason why travelers in Vietnam are becoming more open to this less traditional way of travel planning. However, many have also seen additional advantages like being able to take advantage of much lower rates. This is made possible through the low prices made available to OTAs (Online travel agencies) by the hotels in exchange for bringing in stable and regular sources of clients.

Some OTAs have established credibility on the internet over time and are now considered big names in the online travel industry. This includes Booking.com, Expedia.com and Agoda.com. While Booking.com nearly covers the whole European market, Agoda.com has been very strong in Asian market.

But while the global data on online booking and patronage of online travel agents’ (OTAs) services increase, influencing the behavior of Vietnamese travelers appear to be more challenging.

All three popular global OTAs have long tapped the Vietnamese market, however they have made more success in bringing in foreign tourists to come to Vietnam, rather than directly tapping the local travelers. Several other players have also made intentions to tap the Vietnamese travelers market. 

However, observers have seen how majority of Vietnamese still prefer the traditional booking method and are still not very confident to access third parties in making their travel reservations. It appears that Vietnamese are more confident in making payment directly to hotels or agents in cash to bank remittances. A study conducted in September 2012 shows that 65 percent of polled tourists said they contact hotels directly to book hotel rooms instead of availing the service of a third party.

Several local players like Vietnam.com, Chudu, iVIVU and Vinabooking are equally making an effort to change the Vietnamese travelers’ habits. This challenge is on top of having to complete with the giants in the industry.

In order to attract the local market and compete with the big players, several approaches are taken into account. Examining the role and impact of travel reviews in the process of planning pleasure trips is an aspect to be considered. It is also important to identify motivations and barriers to posting an online travel reviews. Since Vietnam has a very rich culture, the different festivals across the country have a great impact on the trend of visits as well.

These and many other factors are carefully considered by Vietnam.com. The site features price transparency, price comparison capabilities, Travel Specials and recommendations and provides a platform for customer feedbacks. They offer both Hotels and Tour packages.

In order to help a traveler carefully and thoroughly plan his entire trip, it updates its site regularly with the latest relevant news, information on cities, attractions, festivals, culture and dishes. Lots of other information such as history of country and cities, and even folktales, are available to help anyone have a deeper understanding of the attractions each province or city offers. A user-friendly map that easily narrows one’s search depending on location, hotel, attraction, restaurants/dining are additional tools that can make one’s travel planning easier.

The local market in Vietnam may be a little more challenging to tap, yet it will only be a matter of time until the Vietnamese travelers will embrace more of the convenience and benefits offered by OTAs’ services.