Vietnam tourism promotion: The ‘game’ needs new breakthroughs

Hanoi (VNA) – Tourism promotion will be better as stakeholders sit together and discuss mechanisms as well as how to do well and each shareholder of the ‘game’ will perform well its work," said a Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) official.

“I think Vietnam's tourism promotion is summed up in words: exciting but very hard. The excitement is thanks to the attention of the Party, the State, ministries, sectors and the growth of businesses, international and domestic tourists with the tourism industry’s increasing revenue and contributions to the GDP in recent times. The whole country got involved in this work ... However, we are still hard because of unprofessionalism, lack of experience and low budget...”

The comment was made by Dinh Ngoc Duc, Director of the Tourism Market Department, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, at the seminar on "Promoting tourism: Need breakthroughs," held by Nhandan online newspaper on August 6.

So, what breakthrough measures the tourism industry should take so that tourism promotion can quickly create new turning points and achieve better results?

Tourism is not just a matter of travel agencies or hotels

According to Phung Xuan Khanh, Director of the Tien Phong Tourism Company, it is necessary to carry out four tasks to promote tourism effectively.

Firstly, the markets for promotion must be determined. Each market needs suitable products. For example, the Japanese and the Indian markets are completely different, if we use the same product for tourism promotion activities in the two markets, one of them will fail.

Secondly, it is necessary to choose a strong product for promotion. For example, in the Indian market, if Vietnamese ‘pho’ is promoted, nobody cares.

International tourists visit Vietnam's tourism destination (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Thirdly, a tool kit for tourism promotion is needed. If we do not have a suitable tool kit, the tourism promotion will cost much labour and take time.

Fourthly, service is also a need. If we have good markets and good tool kits, but service, the last phase in tourism promotion, is not good. It is surely that the development Vietnam’s tourism market is not speeded up.

Operating tourism services is not the separate work of each travel agency or hotel. It requires the involvement of many sectors from the immigration management force, sale units that need to have hospitability attitude to make customers satisfied.

Is it necessary to set up a national tourism promotion need?

Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Secretariat of the National Tourism Advisory Council, said it should set up a national tourism promotion council with representatives from state management agencies, associations and businesses as members to give opinions and contribute to the tourism promotion fund.

Echoing Chinh’s view, Phung Quang Thang, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Society of Travel Agencies, took Thailand as an example. The country has developed tourism for years with reforms. In 1979, Thailand decided to establish a tourism promotion council, specialising in tourism promotion for the country.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, head of the Secretariat of the National Tourism Advisory Council (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Singapore, for another example, is a tiny country. Singapore established a tourism promotion council. To date, the country with a population of some million people welcomed 18.5 million foreign visitors. Malaysia, which developed after the aforementioned countries, set up its tourism promotion council in 1952. Then the number of visitors increased.

Thang emphasised the organisational model, which needs a national tourism promotion agency to gather resources, and the way to do it, suggesting finding appropriate solutions for each locality.

"Our neighbouring country is Cambodia, and their budget for tourism promotion is not much. When participating in international tourism fairs, their booths are small, but professional and always leave an impression on visitors. They always bring the image of Angkor temples to introduce to the world. From luring tourists to Angkor temples, tourists come to all over Cambodia,” he said.

Regarding resources attraction, Thang proposed a plan, focusing on tourism management agencies and their coordination with other sectors in the work, and the development tourism attractions to attract more resources. Promoting well destinations, tourism promotion work will be performed well.

Let smiles stay on their faces after visiting Vietnam (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Performing well their part in the “game”

According to Dinh Ngoc Duc, to perform well tourism promotion, the whole industry should "sit together" and stakeholders do their role and position well.

State management agencies act as a coordinator to connect localities, destinations and businesses in the work.

Localities must well manage their promotion activities. Enterprises coordinate with state management agencies to exploit the market and businesses sell specific products.

Dinh Ngoc Duc, Director of the Tourism Market Department, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Photo: VietnamPlus)

 
“In tourism promotion, it is not flowery words, but a good performance. Good performance means that tourists to a destination receive hospitability from locals, good and safe products as well as the role of the local authority in the work. I think resources are a part, the most importance is that stakeholders sit together, discuss mechanisms and how to do well and each stakeholder of the ‘game’ will perform well its work," Duc emphasised./.