Vietnam Business Forum talked with Mr Nguyen Quoc Ky, General Director of Vietravel, about the development strategy of Vietnamese tourism in the coming years.
Among tourism modes, sea and island tourism is a magnet luring domestic and international visitors. How does Vietravel approach this form of tourism?
Sea and island tours are our backbone service, attracting the large majority of domestic and international visitors every year. Vietravel now has the best tours to the most beautiful coastal cities in Vietnam like Vung Tau, Phu Quoc, Phan Thiet and Nha Trang. For example, in Nha Trang City, in addition to standard and sea tourism, we also have Vinadive diving centre. In the near future, our Nha Trang branch will introduce a new service, very special and romantic, which has been a success in many countries but is a first for Vietnam. It is the “wedding in the water” for sporty couples and sea lovers.
As an experienced person with a full understanding of tourism, what do you think about Vietnamese tourism?
In general, the Vietnamese tourism environment has been improved but there are certain unresolved weak points. The overseas tourism promotion programme has failed to meet expectations. The majority of Vietnamese tourism companies are small in size, quality is limited and management capacity is low. Tourism workers are insufficient, and lack foreign language skill and experience.
The weakness of Vietnamese tourism is a concern of our travel and tourism firms. Especially as Vietnam joins the WTO and its economy is restructured. Industries with low competitiveness will not survive. Tourism market competition will be stiffer and the challenge will be bigger, although opportunity will also grow. The important thing is that the Vietnamese industry must be fully prepared for international integration.
On this occasion, do Vietravel and you want to send any message to international visitors, especially Koreans, to Vietnam?
Vietnam in general and Vietravel in particular, always want to receive international friends to peaceful and friendly Vietnam. Following up the 2006-2010 national tourism action programme slogan “Vietnam – The hidden charm,” our company wishes to receive all international visitors to Vietnam with professional service to make the country a place of interest for international visitors with the slogan “Quality is our top concern.” At present, Vietravel is a reliable service for both domestic and international visitors. We always strive to generate customer-oriented products and services. Especially, our E-tourism selling system enables customers to find tourism information and register online for tours, anytime and anywhere. Initial results of Vietravel’s E-tour service are encouraging and promise further success in the future.
Van Luong
Vietnamese
