Executives and experts from the tourism industry gathered in Hanoi
on May 30 for an in-depth Tourism Promotion Conference to debate how the
lucrative and fast-growing industry can become more successful.
Addressing the conference, Vietnam National Tourism Administration
Chairman Nguyen Van Tuan called for the establishment of Vietnamese
tourism representative offices in Japan , the Republic of Korea and
Russia .
Such a move will promote the industry in some of
Vietnam’s key partner markets, said Tuan, who also called for further
co-operation with important partners of Japan, China, Thailand,
Malaysia, Australia and France.
He reported to the conference
on the marketing initiatives since the year 2000 and submitted a
strategy for tourism development until 2020, which he said will be a
long and challenging process requiring a methodical strategy.
Tuan said that important long-term initiatives included joining tourism
fairs, organising culture-tourism weeks and inviting foreign travel
agents and media to Vietnam .
“We can no longer be vague
when advertising Vietnam . We need to focus on our strengths and
sufficiently implement all stages of marketing and promotion, including
market research, advertising and building a brand name,” Tuan said.
He pointed out some advantages created in the development of
Vietnamese tourism thanks to the support of international partners.
These
include a project with Luxembourg in developing human resources, a
Spanish project for the empowerment for Vietnamese tourism in the period
2011-20, and the European Union (EU)’s Environmentally and Socially
Responsible Tourism (ESRT) Programme.
Franz Jessen, head of the
EU delegation, at the conference said tourism was one of the fastest
growing and most crucial sectors in the world, and contributed
substantially to Vietnam ‘s growth and job creation. However, he
warned that some key challenges are putting the potential of the sector
at risk.
“Marketing is one of these key areas where
improvements are needed. If there is one single message on tourism
marketing I would like to convey, it’s that it needs funding,” he said.
Jessen said that the spending on marketing per every arrival in
Vietnam is around 1 euro (1.3 USD) per year, three times less than
Malaysia .
Participants at the conference included
representatives from the national and local government, travel companies
and international tourism organisations.
Similar conferences
will be organised in other big cities to canvas more opinions from
leaders and experts in the tourism industry.-VNA