Vietnam should establish a tourism skill advisory council to seize opportunities brought about by regional and global integration, especially the ASEAN Economic Community, heard a workshop in Hanoi on June 18.

The council is expected to involve businesses, the Government, training institutions and other stakeholders, who would identify ways to improve training and skills development in this promising industry amid the global economic integration and intense competition.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, tourism is one of the country’s major earning sources thanks to its stretching coastline of 3,300km and 7.8 million international arrivals each year.

The industry employs 1.7 million workers, including 550,000 direct jobs.

However, Vietnam is lacking standard tourism skills and has failed to meet several needs.

The workshop was co-hosted by the General Department of Vocational Training under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).-VNA