International travelers visit Hanoi after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Hanoi (VNA) - The return of Chinese tourists, along with domestic efforts, is expected to revive the smokeless industry in the Year of the Cat.
Vietnam's tourism industry is making efforts to promote its recovery in the New Year. That China - a market that provides a large number of tourists to Vietnam - is about to reopen its borders is seen as another good sign for the recovery of the sector.
Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh said that this is a sign that will stabilise the flow of international visitors as China has always been a big market for Vietnam, making up one-third of the total number of arrivals to the Southeast Asian country.
Data from the General Statistics Office showed that the number of Chinese visitors to Vietnam increased by 3.3 times in the 2015 -2019 period, an average increase of 34.4% per year. In 2019, Chinese tourism represented the largest tourist influx with 5.8 million arrivals.
With the return of Chinese tourists, the industry is expected to fulfill the target of welcoming 8 million international visitors this year.
Hung Lo ancient communal house in Hung Lo commune, Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province, welcomes a large number of domestic and foreign visitors. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
Quynh Nhu, a representative of the Saigontourist, said they expect 2023 to be a year of recovery for international tourism as the number of visitors to Vietnam by air and sea will rise again.
Currently, many travel agencies are focusing on promoting the international tourism segment by taking part in international fairs and signing cooperative agreements with many stakeholders to understand customer taste and market trends, shaping key products this year.
One of the reasons why Vietnam failed to achieve its target of welcoming 5 million international visitors last year is the visa policy.
To deal with the issue, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and travel agencies have suggested many specific policies to attract foreign tourists, including a proposal to apply electronic visa for them, continue to simplify procedures and enhance the application of technology.
The ministry also proposed to extend the temporary stay for international visitors from 15 days to 30 days to create favourable conditions for them while traveling to Vietnam and expand the establishment of direct routes connecting the Southeast Asian nation with other countries and territories.
It also underlined the need to provide tourists with the right products to ensure they return to the country for future visits.
Hoi An is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Vietnam. It’s hard to believe that two years ago, the city fell silent as tourist attractions closed and streets were empty due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: VietnamPlus)
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) will deploy a marketing strategy for Vietnam's tourism until 2030 as well as other projects on the application of the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s technologies to develop smart tourism, promoting it to become a spearhead economic sector.
In the first quarter of this year, the VNAT will organise a national conference on tourism and other meetings to review the 5-year implementation of Poliburo’s Resolution on turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector as well as an in-depth conference on training human resources for tourism in Vietnam.
Tourism promotion will be carried out actively throughout the year. Specifically, the tourism industry will participate in international events on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tourism and international tourism fairs. The VNAT will also cooperate with the Vietnam Tourism Association, the Tourism Development Support Fund, localities and businesses to popularise Vietnamese tourism in key markets./.
