German businesses have showed their interest in pouring investment into Vietnam’s tourism and environmental services sectors at a recent meeting with Ho Chi Minh City's Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC).
The mission, led by Dr Harald Ringstorff, minister and president of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany, included 35 businesses involved in tourism, industry, environmental services, transport and maritime endeavors.
The German delegates shared experiences with the Vietnamese side on Germany’s tourism and environmental services sectors, which are considered spearhead industries during the meeting.
ITPC director Truong Trong Nghia said that the tourist industry had an annual growth rate of 20 per cent. However, the industry still faced challenges such as a shortage of hotels, under-qualified staff, and a low rate of returns to the country by tourists as well as low spending patterns during tourists’ stays in Vietnam.
“Vietnam must develop tourist infrastructure, preserve historic relics and natural scenic spots to attract more tourists,” Ringstorff said, noting that German businesses want to cooperate with Vietnamese partners in tourism development.
With an annual high economic growth rate of more than 8 per cent, Vietnam was becoming an attractive destination for German tourism investors. Ringstorff, however, said to attract more German investors Vietnam needed to refine certain laws and encourage investment in small-and medium-sized enterprises and promote trade ties with German companies.
To date, Vietnam has five natural and cultural world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, including the complex of Hue monuments, Hoi An ancient town, the My Son sanctuary, Ha Long bay, and the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It also boasts other world intangible heritages, namely the Tay Nguyen gong culture in addition to Hue royal music.
The country welcomed more than 64,000 German arrivals in the first eight months of this year, up 26.5 per cent on-year. (VNA, Thanh Nien Daily)
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