Vietnam Tourism Potentials to Be Promoted on BBC

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) has approved the Vietnam National Tourism Administration’s project to promote Vietnam's image on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on November 19.

 

The ministry assigned its International Cooperation Department to conduct negotiations with other TV channels such as France’s Fashion TV, the Republic of Korea’s Ariang and the U.S.’s Discovery channel and to explore the possibility of running advertisements on Japan’s NHK and China’s CCTV channels, as well as in a popular Russian newspaper.

 

MoCST Minister Hoang Tuan Anh also directed the administration to consider re-broadcasting a trailer on Vietnam on CNN and organizing roadshows in Australia, Taiwan and China.

 

The advertisement campaign is part of the national trade-investment and tourism promotion program which was adopted by the Government with a total capital of VND30 billion (US$1.83 million).

 

According to an official from Ben Thanh Tourist – a large travel agency in Vietnam - the Vietnam National Tourism Administration spent VND4.7 billion (US$286,590) promoting the national image on CNN Asia. However, the program did not meet the expectations as few Asian people watched the channel to book tours, while none in Europe and America could watch it.

 

This year, Vietnam is looking to 4-4.4 million foreign visitors and 19-20 million domestic tourists with total revenue reaching VND56 trillion, or US$3.5 billion.

 

Currently, tourism, which contributes 8 per cent to the country’s GDP is considered one of the key economic sectors in Vietnam. (Youth)