A recent workshop was held in Hanoi where experts gathered to find ways
to enhance the attractiveness of the capital’s tourism products.
The workshop was part of the third Vietnam International Travel Mart which wrapped up on April 6.
According
to Vice Director of the Institute for Tourism Department Research, Do
Thanh Hoa, Hanoi has become an attractive destination for tourists.
The
city is ranked fourth out of the top 25 tourism destinations in the
world in 2015 by travel website TripAdvisor, based on evaluations of
service quality, hotels, beautiful landscapes and food, she said.
The city was also ranked eighth among the top 10 tourism destinations in Asia in 2014 by Smart Travel Asia.
Local residents need to look after the environment and be friendly to tourists, Hoa added.
Hanoi has a large number of places of cultural and historical
interest, and intangible heritages recognised by UNSECO, especially
traditional festivals.
According to Truong Quoc
Binh, a senior expert at the Vietnam Institute for Culture and Arts
Studies and a member of the National Council for Cultural Heritage, one
of the top priorities for the city is to restore and renovate its
relics.
Nguyen Thanh Binh, Deputy Director of the
Hotel Department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,
highlighted the importance of state management to improve the quality of
services.
One solution he proposed at the workshop
was to set up a tourism help desk, and to deal with feedback on service
quality p rovided by foreign and domestic visitors.
Conducting surveys on tourism service quality and satisfaction was also important.
Nguyen Cong Truong, Vice Director of the Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage
Conservation Centre, said that over the years, the number of visitors to
the Imperial Citadel had remained modest.
The
centre has been trying to attract more visitors with events such as the
Spring Festival, flower exhibitions and displays of artefacts and
antiques, but these efforts have failed to drive numbers.
Many experts at the workshop agreed that improving human resources was
vital for tourism development in Hanoi. People working in the tourism
sector should be trained professionally, while community tourism should
be promoted.-VNA