Photo for illustration. (Source: Vietnamnet)
According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), in 2016, Vietnam’s tourism sector made new records with the number of 10 million international tourist arrivals, up 25 percent against last year, the highest thus far.
In addition, the country served 62 million domestic tourists and earned total revenues of 400 trillion VND (USD18 billion).
Such figures showed that the sector in 2016 has reached the goals set for 2020 under the Strategy for Vietnamese tourism development in 2020 with a vision to 2030.
To date, visitors from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have topped the list, accouting for 30 percent of international tourists.
The number of Western European travellers to Vietnam also soared, including those from Italy, the UK, France, Germany and Spain, which are benefiting from Vietnam’s visa exemption policy.
Positive movement in tourism promotion
In late 2016, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved the production of art documentaries on ethnic mountain markets and Mui Ne beach in the south central coastal province of Binh Thuan.
The two art documentaries aim to introduce tourist attractions in Vietnam, with the unique tourism products and cultural characteristics of different regions in the country.
The documentaries are Phien Cho Vung Cao (A Mountain Market) and Mui Ne - Vung Bien Thuc (Mui Ne - An Awake Sea). Each of the two works will last for 12 minutes, with English and French subtitles.
They will be shown during movie and tourism events in Vietnam and abroad, and introduced to audiences, travel companies and foreign film makers.
They will also be screened at all national level official events of cinema and tourism fields in the following year, such as Vietnamese film weeks in Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Cuba, Canada, and the 57th Asia-Pacific film festival.
In addition, the Hanoi city People’s Committee has inked a USD2 million deal with CNN to advertise its image on the popular American news network in 2017 and 2018.
The memorandum of understanding will call for cooperation in making three 30-second films, 60-second films, three-to-five-minute documentaries and 30-minute special programs about the capital.
Pages such as “Hanoi-the heart of Vietnam”, “Hanoi-the cradle of heritages”, “My Hanoi” and “Hanoi’s views” will be posted on CNN.com, while articles will be posted on CNN’s Facebook page, its Twitter account and promotional programs.
The campaign will air in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South Asia.
Particularly, the VNAT has announced plans for tourism promotion in 2017.
As planned, the VNAT will join four fairs in Northeast Asia: Korea World Travel Fair on June 24th-26th, JATA Tourism Expo on September 22nd-25th, China International Travel Mart on November 13th-15th, and Taipei (China) International Travel Fair on November 4th-7th; two fairs in Southeast Asia: TRAVEX in the framework of ASEAN Tourism Forum in Singapore on January 18th-24th and TRAVEX 2018 in Thailand; and four fairs in Europe: ITB Berlin 2017 in March, ITB Berlin 2018, Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition on March 22nd-26th, and World Travel Market on November 7th-9th.
For the domestic market, the administration will participate in Vietnam International Travel Mart on April 14th-17th and International Travel Expo - Ho Chi Minh city on September 8th -10th. It will also coordinate with Fam and press delegations from China, Japan, Europe, the Republic of Korea, Iran and Australia to conduct surveys in Vietnam.
Necessary things to do
Tourism potential and advantages are very huge, but aiming to effectively exploit them, localities, relevant agencies and each citizen should move positively to create strong impressions on foreign tourists.
Along with advertising the image; relics and heritages should be of interest for investment in order to provide the best services for tourists.
The sector should focus on raising awareness of people about public behavior, civilization and politeness in communication and following urban civilized regulations such as non-smoking, littering in public places and environmental protection.
In addition, it is very necessary to consult ideas of experts in realizing tourism promotion projects in order to develop the Vietnam tourism brand professionally and comprehensively.
This year, the country’s tourism aims to lure 11.5 million international tourists and serve 66 million domestic visitors, earning VND460 trillion (USD20.24 billion) in revenue.
Vietnam’s tourism sector strives to greet 18-20 million foreign tourist arrivals and serve 82 million domestic tourists by 2020, grossing USD33-35 billion in turnover. It targets to become a spear-head economic sector contributing 10-12% to the national economy./.