Hungry Business
This year, the tourism industry aims to welcome 18 million international visitors and 110 million domestic tourists. Positive results from the beginning of the year are a promising sign to achieve this goal for the year.
On March 12th, at the symposium “Solutions for Tourism Breakthrough”, the Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, Nguyen Trung Khanh, presented 7 key tasks for the tourism industry.
Director Nguyen Trung Khanh at the symposium on March 12th.
The tourism industry is finalizing the tourism plan 2025-2030 with a vision to 2045, awaiting approval from the Prime Minister. Leaders and tourism professionals propose content and changes in commercial promotion methods based on segments such as community tourism, health care, rural areas, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions).
Director Nguyen Trung Khanh emphasized the task of developing tourism products based on potential advantages, with a focus on products that keep tourists engaged. Resolving issues related to investment, taxes, destination safety management, and enhancing digital transformation are also among the key solutions.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietravel, believes that to attract more visitors to the tourism industry, there needs to be a change in perception. One of the current limitations is the slow and uncoordinated change mechanism.
More flexible policies are needed to attract tourists. Photo: Trong Quan.
“We talk a lot about visas, but in other countries, visa policies change rapidly, are flexible, and meet the needs of customers. We have made a lot of efforts but are not as flexible as other countries. We need to clarify the planning for each market and region. Set goals from now until 2030 on how many customers to attract from each market, such as South Korea, China, etc.,” shared a Vietravel leader.
Currently, a sad reality is that many Vietnamese tourists travel to Thailand in large numbers, with each person possibly making multiple trips, while tourists coming to Vietnam only visit once and do not return. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Ky mentioned the issue of creating connections and re-planning tourism products of localities to support instead of competing with each other.
Many tourism businesses are experiencing a lack of customers. Saigontourist has proposed waiving visas for tourists from key markets and establishing tourism promotion offices in Europe, America, ASEAN, China, etc. In addition, there is a need for further investment in young and talented personnel for tourism commercial promotion.
Attracting famous people and the super-rich
Deputy Director of the Da Nang Department of Tourism, Nguyen Thi Hoai An, shared that Da Nang has become a destination for high-end tourists, famous people who come for vacation, MICE guests, and contestants for game shows. This contributes to the attractiveness to international visitors with the value of image recognition, destinations, and positions Da Nang on the local and global map.
“Recently, technology billionaire Bill Gates came to Da Nang and stayed for a long time, demonstrating the capacity to provide full services. Our destination has the necessary conditions to welcome high-class guests, positioning ourselves as a civilized, safe, and friendly destination. The presence of billionaires as guests also shows the tourism potential of Da Nang, contributing to positioning it as a destination in the region and the world,” said An.
Billionaire Bill Gates and his girlfriend visited Da Nang on March 4th.
In the coming time, Da Nang will continue to strengthen its media promotion through KOLs and celebrities. This has been the city’s strategy for the past 10 years and will be further enhanced in the future.
To meet the needs of this segment, Da Nang will continue to improve and diversify services, ensure the quality of human resources, friendliness, safety, and customer care. Besides catering to the super-rich, Da Nang also targets Indian wedding products and international couples who wish to have their weddings in Vietnam.
Ms. Pham Thanh Giang, Head of Sales and Marketing, Vietnam Airlines, stated that the national airline is preparing to open new routes to the Philippines and Germany in June, hoping to attract new passengers and compensate for the shortfall in the Russian, Chinese, and Japanese markets.
Many international celebrities consider Vietnam to be an ideal vacation destination.
“We need to be more agile in serving customers. Vietnam Airlines is collaborating with major corporations to develop attractive tourism packages, hoping for a significant increase in international visitors to Vietnam in the second half of 2024,” expressed Ms. Giang.
