Hanoi (VNA) – US tech giant Google will support Vietnamese tourism by organising seminars, training, introducing free Google tourism products, and supporting the development of marketing plans and many other cultural and tourism promotion activities.
The Google representative unveiled the plan during a meeting on September 24 with a delegation of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) led by its Deputy Minister Ho An Phong as part of their working trip to the US.
Phong said he appreciates Google for supporting the MoCST in promoting Vietnam's image, people and culture to a global audience. The exposure is a result of significant projects such as Wonders of Vietnam, Vibrant Vietnam and a series of video clips called Vietnam: Di de yeu! (Vietnam: Travel to Love!). There are also training programmes for small and medium-sized tourism enterprises in Vietnam to support the initiative.
Launched in January, 2021 on the online platform Google Arts & Culture (GAC), the “Wonders of Vietnam", project featured 35 online exhibitions and more than 1,300 photos of famous tourist attractions, heritages, natural landscapes, and Vietnamese culture.
The "Vibrant Vietnam" project was officially released online on the GAC platform in July this year, aimed at honouring and promoting the natural landscapes, cultural heritage, and diversity of the Vietnamese ethnic community to the public around the world.
Echoing Phong’s view, General Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), Nguyen Trung Khanh, said that this practical and effective support comes at a time when Vietnam’s tourism industry is accelerating its digital transformation and promoting sustainable development.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, Google also shared with the tourism industry information about the demand for digital travel information about Vietnam through its Travel Insights tools. These include Destination Insights, Hotel Insights, and Travel Analytics Center. This has allowed Vietnam's tourism sector to leverage and disseminate information to localities and tourism businesses in order to grasp market trends and support the recovery of the tourism industry in specific regions as well as tourism in Vietnam as a whole.
Phong proposed several initiatives to strengthen collaboration with Google, particularly in enhancing policies, international legal experiences and regulations related to cultural industries.
He suggested enhancing cooperation between Google and Vietnam’s tourism sector by focusing on innovative promotional strategies, a smart tourism ecosystem tied to digital and green initiatives, and effectively using Google’s digital tools.
The MoCST also requested that Google continue to implement projects that promote the image of Vietnam’s people and culture on the 'Google Arts & Culture' platform.
Based on the proposal from the MoCST, Google representatives said that the firm will continue promoting Vietnam’s tourism and culture, as well as digital transformation and content creation in the ministry's areas of management.
YouTube plans to invite prominent content creators from key markets to Vietnam to showcase its landscapes and culture internationally.
As for the 'Google Arts & Culture' platform, discussions are ongoing with the International Cooperation Department to feature UNESCO-recognised sites and explore how localities can create online exhibitions with technical support from Google.
In the tourism sector, Google is collaborating with VNAT to assist tourism businesses by organising workshops and training sessions to introduce Google’s free tourism products, while also helping businesses develop marketing plans for international markets using Google tools./.
