Vietnam is banking on domestic tourists to boost the fortunes of thetourism industry, especially in terms of ensuring its stable growth,the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper reported.
The“Vietnamese people travel across Vietnam” campaign was officiallylaunched on July 7 with the target of encouraging domestic tourists tovisit key destinations, especially remote and mountainous areas andislands.
Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism (VNAT), said that during the currentlydifficult times of the country, the domestic tourism will be the key tothe industry’s continued growth.
He said the domestic tourismsegment has already done very well with localities nationwide welcoming35 million visitors last year, creating strong momentum for futuregrowth. The new campaign aims to have this segment make up of anyshortfall in international visitors, he added.
“It is reasonableto say that it is not necessary to travel great distances at greatexpense. You can experience and discover interesting things in Vietnam.Our fatherland is gorgeous from Meo Vac, a tourist site in the northernmountainous province of Ha Giang to Ca Mau, the most shouthern tip ofVietnam, with incredibly beautiful sceneries. We also have the diverseculture of 54 ethnic groups, ” Tuan said.
He noted that Vietnam’slong coast ranked it 27 out of 156 countries in the world with morethan 100 beautiful beaches. “Every visit will enhance the visitor’sunderstanding of the country as also her/his love for it,” he said.
Whilethe potential for domestic tourism yielding significant benefits isevident, it is not such a simple task at this time, experts have said.
VuThe Binh, who heads the Vietnam Travel Agents Association, said thatthe lack of coordination among economic sectors has reduced thecompetitiveness of Vietnam's tourism industry in the region.
"The local tourism companies are now worried about the big changes in domestic tour prices”, added Binh.
Theprices of domestic tours are up about 30 – 50 percent because of risinginput costs, including electricity, fuel and food, making it verydifficult for travel companies to sell tours without suffering losses.
Thesituation is compounded by the fact that other markets in Asia arelaunching promotion campaigns with big discounts and attractive gifts.
“Wejust keep claiming that our country has beautiful sceneries or thatdomestic travel is a patriotic act without bringing out deeper changesby developing new tourism products and professional services,” Binhsaid.
With a market of 90 million people, Vietnam’s domestictourism should be developed aggressively and outperform other countriesin the region like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, but the localindustry has developed in a fragmented manner without strict management,he added.
In the coming time, relevant sectors should closely cooperate and work out a strategy to encourage domestic tourists.
Accordingto data released by the VNAT, domestic tourists reached 23.4 million inthe first half of 2014, a year-on-year hike of 6.9 percent, bringingthe country’s total tourism revenue in the reviewed period to 125trillion VND (5.87 billion USD), up 22.5 percent from last year.-VNA
The“Vietnamese people travel across Vietnam” campaign was officiallylaunched on July 7 with the target of encouraging domestic tourists tovisit key destinations, especially remote and mountainous areas andislands.
Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam NationalAdministration of Tourism (VNAT), said that during the currentlydifficult times of the country, the domestic tourism will be the key tothe industry’s continued growth.
He said the domestic tourismsegment has already done very well with localities nationwide welcoming35 million visitors last year, creating strong momentum for futuregrowth. The new campaign aims to have this segment make up of anyshortfall in international visitors, he added.
“It is reasonableto say that it is not necessary to travel great distances at greatexpense. You can experience and discover interesting things in Vietnam.Our fatherland is gorgeous from Meo Vac, a tourist site in the northernmountainous province of Ha Giang to Ca Mau, the most shouthern tip ofVietnam, with incredibly beautiful sceneries. We also have the diverseculture of 54 ethnic groups, ” Tuan said.
He noted that Vietnam’slong coast ranked it 27 out of 156 countries in the world with morethan 100 beautiful beaches. “Every visit will enhance the visitor’sunderstanding of the country as also her/his love for it,” he said.
Whilethe potential for domestic tourism yielding significant benefits isevident, it is not such a simple task at this time, experts have said.
VuThe Binh, who heads the Vietnam Travel Agents Association, said thatthe lack of coordination among economic sectors has reduced thecompetitiveness of Vietnam's tourism industry in the region.
"The local tourism companies are now worried about the big changes in domestic tour prices”, added Binh.
Theprices of domestic tours are up about 30 – 50 percent because of risinginput costs, including electricity, fuel and food, making it verydifficult for travel companies to sell tours without suffering losses.
Thesituation is compounded by the fact that other markets in Asia arelaunching promotion campaigns with big discounts and attractive gifts.
“Wejust keep claiming that our country has beautiful sceneries or thatdomestic travel is a patriotic act without bringing out deeper changesby developing new tourism products and professional services,” Binhsaid.
With a market of 90 million people, Vietnam’s domestictourism should be developed aggressively and outperform other countriesin the region like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, but the localindustry has developed in a fragmented manner without strict management,he added.
In the coming time, relevant sectors should closely cooperate and work out a strategy to encourage domestic tourists.
Accordingto data released by the VNAT, domestic tourists reached 23.4 million inthe first half of 2014, a year-on-year hike of 6.9 percent, bringingthe country’s total tourism revenue in the reviewed period to 125trillion VND (5.87 billion USD), up 22.5 percent from last year.-VNA
