Question

Are Vietnamese people friendly to tourists?

Answer 1

Yes, Vietnamese people are generally known for their friendly and hospitable nature. They value community and family, and often go out of their way to make visitors feel welcome. However, like any culture, there can be variations in behavior and attitude among individuals.

Answer 2

As my experience, Vietnamese is really friendly with tourists. With them, you are god. Anything you want, just ask them for help. One reason is that tourism plays important role of their income.

In some big city like Sai Gon or Ha Noi, many people can speak English (especially in centre of city), you can ask them about some information and they are willing to help you (also, they get used to it). But in other province, you cann’t communicate with them easily because many of them isn’t very good in English, especially adult and the old.

But be carefully, there are also a risk of being stolen your money, visa,……Recently, a foreign tourist who lost all of his money and passpor. He started to walk around the city and ask for the help. So people started to donate money to him so he can get enough budget to by a ticket for a bus to his country’s embassy and receive a help to come back home

Answer 3

Yes they really are. However many Vietnamese people are scammers so be careful. I am living in the so called “land of smiles” Thailand and I can tell you I was blown away by the friendliness of the Vietnamese people. Vietnam is the real ”land of smiles” while Thailand is sometimes a ”land of smiles until they take your money" (of course there are also many sweet and genuine Thai people, I'm just making a generalization on the overall culture. Again, this might have been due to the fact that some type of tourists have made Thais a bit jaded, and may not represent the real culture of the countries.) The difference between these ASEAN predominantly Buddhist countries is night and day.

I made a dozen friends in a week and even was invited to try their local cuisines in different restaurants and even spent time at local people's family dinner. It takes some time for Indians to invite strangers into their houses, so it's a bit of a culture shock (in a good way) in Vietnam for me. This was not a one time event. Again and again, Vietnamese people of all generations amazed me with their kindness and how they have a good community feeling.

This level of genuine good nature and friendliness is unheard of in Thailand or even the USA where it's somewhat easy to make acquaintances as the people are open. I salute you and your great people Vietnam. There is still a lingering suspicion about westerners because of history but the Vietnamese aren’t the type to hold a grudge, forgive and move on seems to be their mantra. My white american friend had a good time in north vietnam and the local guides were very kind to him.

I have been around South East Asia, Cambodia was a mixed bag (amazing heritage and nature but people are prone to petty scams), I liked Malaysia, it's hospitality and helpful people (however it has a racist government that favours majority malays) and from what I have seen Indonesians and Filipinos are very cool people too but Vietnam was really cool because it's not a very popular tourist destination and not very good at English language proficiency, but the culture is very unique and one of it's kind in ASEAN, they synthesised many of the world's cultures like Chinese (from the north), Indian (from the south via the khmer empire and later Champa kingdom), Western (french) and made a very unique one that resembles none of them but is still identifiable as an ASEAN country.

Answer 4

In 2012 My ex-boyfriend and I did a motorcycling tour on the Hoh Chi Min trail from Hanoi to Da Nang. We passed through tiny villages of people who hardly ever had Western visitors and who were very, very friendly, greeting us all the time with big smiles. One time, we stopped at a tiny house which offered food for lunch. The woman started speaking Vietnamese, but we couldn’t understand her, yet she didn’t understand that we didn’t understand her. First, she very considerately let us wash our hands in a bucket of water, before providing us with something to drink and making us Phõ. She sat with us and talked to us the whole time. After we finished, she assumed I would probably have to go to the bathroom and she disappeared somewhere just to come back with toilet paper (!) which I hadn’t seen in weeks and which she must have saved for some special occasion (as most Asians don’t use toilet paper but water to clean themselves), so I felt very special ;)
She lead me to a toilet with about 200 spiders but I appreciated her confidence in me not being scared of them (arachnophobia is a Westerner’s “luxury” phenomenon entirely anyway, I guess) . Afterwards I went on to use sun screen and she started helping me put it ok my back while happily continuing to talk . As at that time I was not wearing shoes and only shorts and a tank top due to the heat, she wanted to offer me her shoes and her jacket. She must have assumed I didn’t have enough clothes, as normally the Vietnamese were wearing a jacket with a hood, long pants, socks, gloves, sunglasses and a hygiene mask to protect themselves from the sun, especially while riding a motorbike. After we finished preparing our depart, she even called her husband from the living room who had been watching TV all along and both of them stood at the door step to wave us goodbye until we couldn’t see them anymore.

This was one of the best, most genuine, heartwarming, interesting and memorable human encounters I have ever had. This extraordinarily warm and caring woman made me feel at home on the other side of the world and despite not understanding a single word from one another she treated me like her daughter. She made me feel understood on a basic level beyond language barriers and cultural differences. She created a brief moment of true connection and meaning for me that I will never forget.

Please judge for yourself if Vietnamese people are friendly, but I would certainly say I experienced them as one of the most friendly and hospitable of all the countries I have been to (44). This impression has not changed even 5 years later, as I am traveling through Vietnam right now!

Greetings from Da Lat :)

Answer 5

Indeed, and unbelievably friendly, as friendly as every time I leave from Vietnam, I can’t stop thinking about coming back.

I came to Vietnam in 2014 for a six month stay. The hospitality, friendliness, kindness and politeness of Vietnamese has mesmerised me and it’s 2018 now and I’m still in the country, married to a Vietnamese woman and speak (to some limited extend) Vietnamese. That’s for locals enough to treat me equal as if I was one of them!

By respecting the local culture you get an open warm heart approach in return.

Here in Vietnam, you get so many small treats from the locals and literally every day.

Answer 6

I would say it depends on the context. The question can be explained as follows:

Young Vietnamese people prefer speaking to foreigners in order to practice English and get to know more about other cultures. While old people are often a bit curious, especially white guys due to the differences in appearances, behaviors and so on that most of them have never seen before (but only via television). As a results, foreigners are taken care (sometimes) way too much.
As a high context society, Vietnamese people generally dont really trust their own people (sorry this is my observation without having legitimate sources, so it could be biased). Instead, they tend to have a belief in people living outside their own country (especially White people, which is kinda weird). This can be explained by the fact mass media describes Western people having good education, rich or whatever, making many Vietnamese think all Westerners are generally privileged compared to their people (generalization i know!).

To conclude, Vietnamese people are generally friendly, just like many Westerners I’ve met so far but sadly it mostly applies to foreigners. However, things are changing slowly as many highly educated folks return to the country and more and more foreigners choose Vietnam as a place to live. As, Vietnamese people are familiar with the presence of Westerners, let’s see what will happen in the near future!

Answer 7

Vietnamese people are the most hospitable and giving. I should know as I met a lot of them at university, and LIVED with them for almost three years.

My best friend invited me to live with her. I did not know her well then, but we became instant buddies after that. After we lived together for a year, I went to Hanoi for a holiday and stayed at her family home. I had the best time of my life!

The following year, I shared a bedroom with her and we went to classes every morning. Her friends were always inviting, and I would end up making more friends whenever I was with my best friend.

My memories of the Vietnamese people were of having dinner altogether as a “family” even when we were not blood relations. My husband( boyfriend at the time) even had dinner with them once, and they were so friendly towards him.

I became so close to the Vietnamese people I eventually learnt some of their language. They even taught me how to sing Vietnamese songs.

Answer 8

I’ve been living in a small town of Vietnam since 18 months for Project purpose. With the experience I’ve had, Vietnamese people are very friendly and easy to gel with. Yes, language is a barrier as they don’t understand english and even if they do , their pronounciation isn’t that easy to interpret. I’ve learnt basic words for my own interest and trust me whenever I’ve tried talking with any local in their language, they get really excited. They like to interact with foreigners and are always willing to learn a few english words here and there. Also don’t be suprised if a local asks you to join them for dinner or go to a karaoke.These guys love having fun whenever given a chance. It’s a really nice place with friendly people and picturesque views. Surely a must visit for all.

Answer 9

I'm half Korean and Norwegian. My first wife is from Vietnam and it was easier for her and her family to speak Vietnamese.

I didn't want to feel left out at home so I decided to learn how to speak Vietnamese. Everyone in the family helped teach me and rather quickly, I started to speak and understand.

Whenever I meet Vietnamese people and start to speak Vietnamese, their eyes light up, they get excited, test me on all the different food, test me on how well I speak, they ask my sons, and just genuine great conversation!

I'm not saying you have to speak Vietnamese but it has been a real honor to see how friendly and wonderful Vietnamese people are…and sometimes hilarious!

Answer 10

In general, Vietnamese people are known for being friendly and welcoming to tourists. They are often eager to show off their culture and customs to visitors, and many local businesses will go out of their way to make tourists feel at home. However, as with any country, it's important to be respectful of local customs and traditions, and to be aware of any cultural faux pas that might offend locals. Additionally, it's important to be mindful of scams and other common tourist traps, and to take care of your belongings while traveling. Overall, if you're respectful and mindful, you should have a positive experience while visiting Vietnam.