Tourism sector targets 35 billion USD in revenue by 2020

Hanoi (VNA) - Over the past years, the tourism sector has seen developments with encouraging achievements. As a result, developing tourism is one of the important contents being discussed at a workshop within the framework of the two-day Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019.

The workshop took the theme ‘Effective attraction of market segments of tourists with high affordability and long-term stay potential in Vietnam’ with participants suggesting a range of measures to develop the tourism sector.

Ngo Van Tuan, Deputy Head of the Party Central Economic Commission stressed that ‘Vietnam’s tourism sector saw the growth rate of 10 percent in terms of international and domestic arrivals and contributed over 6.8 percent to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP). The development of the tourism sector has been contributing to boosting economic and on-the-spot export restructuring, preserving and upholding cultural heritage and natural resource values, creating jobs, improving living conditions, enhancing the country’s international integration and promoting the image, land and people of Vietnam.’

Over the past time, tourism infrastructure, facilities and technologies have been constantly developed. Types of tourism products and services have been diversified, leading to improvement in tourism’s quality and professionalism.

As a result, the domestic tourism business circle is gradually growing in both quantity and quality, creating reputable brands domestically and internationally. Initially, Vietnam had a number of key areas and resorts.

However, Mr. Ngo Van Tuan said that, besides these achievements, there still exist shortcomings and limitation in the tourism industry, such as not yet developed commensurate with the potential, strengths and expectations of society. Quality as well as products are not really attractive, affecting their competitiveness. Especially, the effectiveness and efficiency of State management on tourism are not high. In addition, the tourism environment, food safety and traffic safety are still inadequate.

To deal with this situation, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 08-NQ / TW on the development of tourism into a key economic sector, Tuan said.

Ngo Van Tuan, Deputy Head of the Party Central Economic Commission speaks at the worshop on May 2 (Photo: BTK/Vietnam+)

Meanwhile, Le Quang Tung, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism said foreign visitors to Vietnam tend to stay longer but spend less than those to other countries in the region.

According to him, a foreign tourist spends an average 96 USD per day in Vietnam but 330 USD per day in Singapore.

Tung also pointed to a decrease in the proportion of visitors from high-spending markets, like North America and Europe, in the total number of foreigners to Vietnam since 2015.

He urged the tourist sector to pay more attention to exploiting high-spending markets and raising the proportion of self-guided travellers instead of those booking tours.  

Vu The Binh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, recommended the first work to do is to improve visa policy for better competitiveness.

Truong Tan Son, a representative from tour operator Saigontourist, noted the sector needs to clarify its major products.

Pham Ha, director of the Luxury Travel Vietnam Limited Company, said four key points in developing the industry are visa policy, human resources training, tourism products, and effective promotion.

Ngo Minh Duc, chairman of the board of director at the HG company, suggested Vietnam establish a tourism development fund and tourism promotion offices overseas.

Cao Tri Dung, director of the Vietnam Travelmart, said the country’s current infrastructure can satisfy visitors’ demand for aviation, food and accommodation services. However, to keep them stay for longer duration, the tourism sector needs to provide more recreational activities like shopping, golf, and performance shows.

He added the building of tax-refund facilities at tourist destinations rather than just at the airports is also necessary.

According to the General Statistics Office, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam in March exceeded 1.4 million people, raising the total number of foreigners to the country over the last three months to more than 4.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent.

In 2019, the tourism industry aims to welcome 103 million visitors, including 17-20 million international visitors and 82 million domestic tourists, earning 35 billion USD./.