Vietnam Tourism Targets ASEAN Market

Though many foreign tourists continue to flow to Vietnam, those from ASEAN countries remain modest in number. According to the Vietnam Administration of Tourism, tourists from the nine ASEAN countries were stood on average at 2 million a year, or 1/68 of ASEAN tourists visiting each other's countries in the region, in comparison with 13 million in Malaysia, 10 million in Thailand and 6 million in Singapore.

ASEAN is a huge potential market for tourism with a population of 570 million. The attraction of tourists from those countries to Vietnam would contribute important revenue to the economy. The causes of poor performance should be reviewed and overcome. The first weakness is the promotion activities. Tourist tours are not well-organised. The problems of visas, consular services and transport (sea and air) have restricted the travel of tourists. Furthermore, Vietnamese tourist companies have neglected ASEAN countries and concentrate their promotion activities in Europe and North East Asia believing that tourists from UK, France, Japan and Korea would spend more money than those from the ASEAN region. However, some statistics prove a different story. While Vietnam received 2 million tourists last year with revenue of only US$700 million, the Philippines received 1.9 million tourists with revenue of US$1.7 billion. In fact, our organisation attracts less money from outside. Foreign tourists often complain that Vietnam has less recreation activities and shopping centres of high quality.

Vietnam tourism, regardless of difficulties, has great potential. Its revenue ranks second in the service sector after labour export. Vietnam has attractive landscapes such as beaches, coral beds, mountain caves and primitive forests. The natural conditions are most favourable for eco-tourism and adventure sports both of which require low investment and are highly efficient. Vietnam's rich traditional culture and friendly people are additional advantages for tourism. Cultural and historic relics such as Ha Long bay, Hoi An's ancient town, the holy place of My Son and the ancient capital of Hue have been well preserved for tourism.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Pham Tu, Deputy Director General of Vietnam Administration of Tourism said, "To develop the economy, no country disregards neighbouring markets. It is even more important as regards to tourism". He also asserted that, "In the coming years, the Vietnam Administration of Tourism will facilitate the extension of tourist tours, bringing some 4 million tourists a year to Vietnam, especially those from ASEAN countries". If Vietnamese enterprises organise and promote tourism better, the revenue could exceed those of Malaysia (US$6.7 billion) and Indonesia (US$5.4 billion).