Five Tourism Development Measures

“Vietnam has ideal conditions to boost tourism development especially with deeper integration into the global economy. However, the opportunity will not be realized if we do not have timely solutions for development,” Hoang Tuan Anh, General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said.

 

The Vietnamese tourism industry has made important progress in recent years, rising from the bottom placement to fifth rank in terms of international arrivals in the Southeast Asian region. While international arrivals reached one million for the first time in 2004, the number soared to 3.6 million in 2006. The World Tourism Organisation has rated Vietnam a fast-growing regional tourism industry. It is rated seventh place globally for growth in arrivals, among 174 nations. Moreover, Vietnam is known as the “safest and friendliest destination” in the region, and ranked among the world's top ten attractive places.

 

Tourism strives to overcome difficulties and challenges, mobilise all available resources, exploit advantages, potential, natural scenery, historical and cultural relics, boost economic development, ensure social security and safety, contribute to national economic development and economic restructuring, expand exports, create jobs, improve conditions in many localities, generate favourable conditions for international exchange and cooperation and improve the position of Vietnam. These are the efforts of the entire Vietnamese tourism industry in the initial phase of development. However, when Vietnam modifies its legal systems and policies to fit international commitments, tourism industry weakness will be exposed.

 

According to statistics, the number of travellers in the ASEAN bloc reached 56 million in 2006, but only half a million visited Vietnam. Mr Pham Tu, Deputy General Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said the natural, social and humanitarian conditions in regional countries are similar to Vietnam, but the trademark makes the difference.

 

Tu said the fast-growing Vietnamese tourism industry needs measures to ensure sustainable development, like increasing staying period for visitors, encouraging expenditures, focusing on rich tourists and building high-grade tourism products to increase the attractiveness of Vietnamese tourism.

 

Mr Hoang Tuan Anh said the tourism sector cannot “impose the destination” on travellers, especially when they have a lot of choices as now. Fierce competition requires improved product and service quality. To achieve this, Vietnamese tourism must resolve five basic matters.

 

First, it is vital to consolidate with other industries, such as cooperation between the tourism industry and central ministries and branches via concrete action programmes.

 

Second, there are too few international standard resorts, although many foreign investors have poured money into resort construction. So, it is essential to plan trademarked tourist sites to attract rich travellers.

 

Third, infrastructure, especially the traffic system, in tourist sites is very poor. According to the VNAT, the government spent more than VND4,000 billion (US$250 million) to develop the local tourism infrastructure in the past five years. However, so far the infrastructure system fails to meet development requirements.

 

Fourth, human resource training facilities are insufficient. The tourism sector has generated jobs for nearly one million people (both direct and indirect) but there is no university of tourism. So, it is necessary to renovate both the content and the mode of training to meet future development needs.

 

Finally, there should be a change in tourism promotion activities. Mr Tuan Anh said tourism promotion activities should be shared by both the Government and enterprises, not only the State as now.