VIETNAM PUTS OUT A BIGGER WELCOME MAT
Even though it is not a main entry point to Southeast Asia, Vietnam remains upbeat about the tourism outlook as it can tap into the popularity of other mature destinations and benefit from the positioning of Asean as a single destination when economic integration takes effect at the end of this year.
“To integrate within the Asean Economic Community, Vietnam wishes to attract more international tourists from other member states as well as those from non-Asean to Asean countries,” said Hoàng Tu n Anh, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
“Vietnam has been actively cooperating with Asean member states in developing tourism products, marketing and promotion activities, especially for the whole of Asean as a single destination.”
Vietnam has agreed to take the leading role in developing river-based tourism, focusing on research and development of the value of the Mekong region.
As Asean moves toward formal integration, all member states are actively carrying out the “Go Asean” mission proposed by Malaysia. Vietnam, for instance, is combining the Vietnam Tourism logo and slogan “Vietnam —Timeless Charm” with the regional “Southeast Asia — Feel the Warmth” branding.
The country is among one of the world’s cheapest places to travel, according to surveys by SkyScanner and TripAdvisor. The latest SkyScanner poll for 2015 includes Danang City in central Vietnam as one of the top low-cost destinations.
Tourism is considered a relatively new element of the country’s economy, and the significant increase of tourist arrivals in the past five years has shown strong potential.
The tourism industry contributed 4.6% of gross domestic product last year, and is expected to rise steadily to 4.8% of GDP in 2025, according to the World Travel and Tourism Council.
However, there could be some shortterm challenges along the way. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO), international visitors in the first seven months this year decreased 9.4% year-on-year, attributed largely to the weak global economy as people become more cautious about tourism spending.
International arrivals last year reached 7.8 million, an increase of 4% over 2013. Vietnam’s tourism administration has set the target for 2015 at between 7 million and 7.5 million and predicts the number could reach 10 million by 2020.
Under the new Vietnam Tourism Master Plan 2020 and Vision 2030, tourism authorities will focus heavily on new feeder markets such as India and Russia.
The number of Russian tourists reached 365,000 last year. However, as the rouble plunged along with oil prices this year, Russian arrivals to Vietnam decreased 12% year-on-year to 190,388 in the first seven months, according to the GSO.
However, “we believe that this market will recover soon and will still belong to the top ten visitor markets to Vietnam”, said the minister.
“In 2015, Vietnam tourism will continue to participate in the main international travel marts in Russian, as well as organise familiarisation trips and press trips from Russia to Vietnam for tourism promotion.”
India, he added, had been identified as “one of Vietnam’s biggest potential markets that will lead to high growth in the future”.
Only about 54,000 Indians came to Vietnam last year, so the tourism authority is stepping up promotional activities including inviting Bollywood film crews to do shoots in Vietnam.
As part of the increasing effort to attract more foreign tourists, Vietnam has eased rules that had made entry and travel difficult. The country now offers visa-free travel to nationals of 13 countries including Russia, Belarus, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. This is in addition to visa-free travel for nationals of all Asean countries.
“The Vietnam government has perceived the important role of visa policies in attracting more international tourists to Vietnam,” said Hoàng Tu n Anh, adding that visa exemptions likely would be extended to other countries in the future.
As well, international tourists can visit Phu Quoc Island, a protected national park in the Gulf of Thailand, visa-free for a period of 30 days.
Apart from improving soft infrastructure, Vietnam has been making more investments in tourism-related infrastructure, facilities, human resources and sustainable tourism.
In famous destinations such as Danang, the minister said, the city administration is actively promoting development related to attractions in Son Tra, Hai Van and the Lang Van tourism complex.
“[Authorities are] developing high-end resort projects, establishing cooperation between the public and private sectors, supporting campaigns for new tourism products and diversifying tourism accommodation and services to meet all demands,” he said.
Other ongoing projects include the Mekong Subregion Tourism Development Project funded by the Asian Development Bank, and the Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development Programme funded by the European Union.
As well, work is continuing to develop a green, sustainable “Smart City” in Danang, along with the European Village and Coastal Luxury Resort Sun Villas, Dai Duong Park Complex in Quang Ninh, and a building of a cable-car link from Sapa to Fansipan Peak in Lao Cai.