Honouring Travel Firms with Biggest Tourist Arrivals to Vietnam

10:49:52 AM | 12/11/2014

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently hosted a solemn ceremony to honour 47 international tour operators sending tourists to Vietnam from 17 countries and territories around the world in Hanoi. This was considered a key activity of the Vietnamese tourism industry in 2014 with the aim of increasing inbound travel into Vietnam. On the sidelines of the event, Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Mr Cao Tri Dung, Chairman of Danang Travel Association. Giang Tu reports.
As a representative of Danang City-based travel companies, how do you feel when you attend this ceremony?
Following the success of the maiden event in Hanoi in December 2011, this is an important event of the tourism industry, a part of a series of events to draw more international tourists to Vietnam carried out by the VNAT, and a place to honour efforts and positive and effective contributions of tour operators from important, potential tourist markets to the growth of international tourist arrivals in particular and the development of inbound tourism and Vietnamese tourism in general. With this activity, foreign travel companies will feel that they are cared and respected by Vietnamese tourism authorities. This will also help encourage companies that have not been honoured to make more efforts and contributions to be recognised by the business community and Vietnamese authorities.
 
How do you think about the number of international visitors to Vietnam in recent years? What will the tourism sector of Vietnam need to do to attract more international tourists?
International tourist arrivals to Vietnam kept growing in the first 11 months of 2014, reaching 7.2 million, up 5.4 percent year on year. Vietnam was expected to welcome approximately 8 million international tourists in 2014, up 5 percent over 2013. This result has mirrored the effort of the Vietnamese tourism industry, including its important contributions of international tour operators which have sent tourists to Vietnam.
 
However, to meet expectations and requirements as well as raise the position of Vietnam's tourism sector in the region, Vietnam needs to do more in the coming time. It can rely on foreign companies to achieve the objectives. The ceremony in honour of leading foreign companies sending tourists to Vietnam aims to encourage foreign companies to contribute, pay attention to and develop their products to Vietnam. The country also needs to boost promotion the tourism, refresh new products, boost communication and connection with news, media and travel agencies and diplomatic and cultural missions.
 
With a diverse and attractive tourism potential and a stable and secure environment, Vietnam will continue to be an attractive destination for international tourists in the coming years.
 
Will domestic tourism also need to be brought into full play?
In recent years, the tourism sector has striven to promote the domestic market and considered it a major, long-term and basic market for the tourism industry of Vietnam. Therefore, the stimulus programme "Vietnamese tours Vietnam" is one of basic programmes of the VNAT and tourism companies as well for this key market. This is just a basic solution to increase tourists for localities, particularly those with high seasonality.