Foreign tourists visit the Independence Palace in HCM City on August 8. (Photo: VNA) Domestic travel has seen a strong rebound whereas internationaltourism, with a target of five million arrivals this year, remains in a slump, saidVu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association.
Domestic visitor numbers topped 71.1 million in just the firstseven months of this year against a full-year target of 60 million, he said.
In the same period there were only 733,000 international visitors,or 8% of pre-pandemic numbers, he told a two-day programme titled ‘Lien Ket SucManh Du Lich Vietnam Nam 2022’ (Power of Vietnam Tourism Linkages) that endedin Ho Chi Minh City on August 9.
Though international tourism resumed in mid-March, the burdensomevisa application process has slowed down international travel, said Cao Thi TuyetLan, sales manager of Viettours Incentives & Events Company.
If concerns related to visa policies are not swiftly addressed,international visitor arrivals to Vietnam are unlikely to be any higher duringthe busy international year-end travel season, she warned.
Tourism services have developed strongly at popular destinationssuch as Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Ha Long but other localities have notinvested adequately in tourism services and promotions, she said.
The shortage of human resources is another factor hindering therecovery, she said.
Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Group, said inboundtourism plays a vital role in the growth of the tourism sector, and so it ishard to say the tourism sector is on the recovery track since the number ofinternational arrivals remains modest.
Phung Quang Thang, Director of Hanoitourist, said the spending bythe 18 million international arrivals in 2019 surpassed that of the 85 milliondomestic tourists, highlighting the vital role of inbound travel.
Cao Tri Dung, Chairman of the Da Nang City Tourism Association,said to boost international travel, the tourism sector needs to engage withdigital and social media platforms considering the vast number of peopleaccessing them.
Phan Thi Thang, Vice Chairwoman of the HCM City People’sCommittee, said the tourism industry is a driving force for economic development,generates lots of new jobs and is an integral part of socio-economic growth.
She said the city’s domestic travel has seen a robust rebound butnot foreign arrivals.
To recover and achieve growth, the tourism sector needs to havemore offerings, promotion and marketing programmes to attract internationaltourists, Thang said.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung saidtourists from some of Vietnam’s major markets such as Russia, Japan and theRepublic of Korea have not returned.
His ministry has proposed to the Government a range of policiesfor recovery, he said.
The Government has worked with related ministries to address visapolicy-related concerns and they would soon be mitigated, he assured.
It has also stepped up international marketing and promotionactivities to speed up recovery and growth of the tourism sector, he added./.
VNA
