Vietnam boosts tourism promotion

An “impressive” year

According to Nguyen Van Tuan, head of the Vietnam Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the economy in 2009 suffered due to the global financial crisis, resulting in high unemployment and a drop in tourism. Consequently, the world’s tourism sector experienced a sharp decrease in its growth.

Similarly, the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam has also dropped sharply since the end of 2008. Most hotels were not fully occupied, while local travel agents found it difficult to lure more visitors. Since 2003, the country’s tourism sector has faced huge difficulties and challenges.

However, thanks to strong support from the Government and relevant agencies at all levels, Vietnam’s tourism sector has gradually overcome its difficulties. Notably, the sector has benefited from the Government’s stimulus package. It has launched a promotion campaign entitled “Impressive Vietnam” in all provinces and cities nationwide, particularly in major tourist destinations.

Most tourism businesses have taken part in the promotion campaign by offering discounts for tours and tourism services. At present, the price for accommodation at three-to five-star hotels in Ho Chi Minh City - the country’s largest tourism centre – is 30 percent lower compared to May 2008.

The national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, has cut prices by 60 percent for domestic flights from Hanoi to Hue, from Hanoi to Da Nang, from HCM City to Hue, and from HCM City to Da Nang.

A number of travel agents have also offered low-cost tours to visitors to Hue and other central provinces and cities following promotional programmes provided by Vietnam Airlines and hotels in the central region.

These moves have effectively promoted the development of the local tourism sector, thus helping to prevent further economic slowdown and restore the growth of international visitors to Vietnam.

In 2009, Vietnam welcomed 3.8 million foreign arrivals, a 10-percent drop from the previous year, with the lowest levels being seen in the first months of the year. Nevertheless, the total of domestic tourists in 2009 reached 25 million, up 20 percent, representing a positive sign for the local tourism sector. As a result, the sector’s total revenue last year was estimated at VND70,000 billion, a 9-percent increase over 2008.

Making progress

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) forecast that the world tourism sector will rebound strongly in 2010 after the global financial crisis and natural disasters. The sector declined by 4 percent last year but will increase by 3-4 percent this year. In fact the recovery began in the fourth quarter of last year.

In Vietnam, together with the positive economic growth rate, the increase in the number of tourists in late 2009 and early 2010 is a good sign for the tourism sector.

According to the VNAT, in the first two months of this year, Vietnam received 900,000 foreign tourists, a year-on-year increase of 27 percent. These tourists mainly come from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, ASEAN and the Europe. This demonstrates that promotional and stimulus programmes began paying off.

“The number of domestic tourists rose sharply,” says Mr Tuan. In the first two months, the tourism sector attracted 10 million visitors.

In 2010, the tourism sector will gain further ground to raise its revenue as Vietnam undertakes the ASEAN presidency and organizes the grand celebration of the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, the National Tourism Year, and the 50^th anniversary of Vietnam’s tourism sector. Another important factor is that Vietnam’s position is increasingly rising in the international arena.

However, Vu The Binh, head of the Travel Department, says that it will be quite a demanding task for the tourism sector to achieve the goal of attracting 4.2 million foreign and 27-28 million domestic tourists set by the VNAT in its “Vietnam – your destination” stimulus programme for 2010. Especially as the Government has withdrawn its support policies and a series of challenges still lie ahead, such as unsustainable growth, fierce competition, unpredictable weather and natural disasters.

Mr Binh says that new issues in the stimulus programme will be implemented strictly to make strong progress this year and in the following years. Accordingly, there will be discount and promotion campaigns to combine tourism with trade.

In addition, improving the quality of service is very important in order to leave a deep impression on visitors and make them feel that Vietnam is a truly attractive destination. The more than 3 million overseas Vietnam are potential advertisers to lure more visitors to Vietnam if Vietnam devises suitable policies to get them involved in the stimulus campaign.

Mr Tuan says that it is very important to create a close link between tourism and other economic sectors as well as between provinces and businesses. This was manifested vividly in 2009. Despite the impact of the global financial crisis, with a concerted effort from Vietnam’s tourism sector significant results were still achieved, living up to the slogan “Impressive Vietnam”. There is high hope that Vietnam will reach the target set for 2010.