Although tourism showed signs of recovering from the
economic downturn in the first two months of this year, with foreign
arrivals growing 27.4 per cent over the same period last year to a total
of 900,000, the nation still needs to step up tourism promotion efforts
to ensure reaching its goal of 4.2 million foreign visitors in 2010.
Nguyen Quy Phuong, deputy head of the Viet Nam National
Administration of Tourism (VNAT)'s travel department, said that the
tourism sector had only received about US$1 million for tourism
promotion from the State budget, compared to around $50 million in
Thailand and $120 million in Malaysia, resulting in sporadic efforts.
This year, the tourism sector has conducted a
promotional campaign in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia which ends
today, according to the VNAT. The campaign focused on Ha Noi's image,
with its millennium-old culture, and covered sites of tourist interest
that range from natural heritage to traditional craft villages.
The campaign, part of a larger VNAT orientation under
the theme of "ASEAN 10 member contries: a destination", was co-sponsored
by VNAT, Vietnam Airlines, and the Vietnamese embassies in the three
target countries. It also included the participation of over 20 leading
travel agencies.
To enhance tourism promotion, Viet Nam needed to build
its image and focus its marketing effort on specific tourism products,
including food, traditional arts, and historical monuments, and
especially the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi and the Hue
Festival this year, said Paul Stoll, general director of the
International hotel management group, Celadon International.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran
Chien Thang vowed that his ministry would contract with international
marketing agencies to promote tourism, while VNAT would be responsible
for consulting and suggesting policies to enhance tourism promotion to
the ministry.
Meanwhile, all Vietnamese citizens had a concrete
responsibility to promote the image of the nation and help develop
tourism, Thang said.
La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of the HCM City
Department of Sports, Culture and Tourism, said the tourism sector
needed to increase its co-operation with relevant agencies, including
the aviation sector and Vietnamese embassies abroad, to increase tourism
promotion efforts.
The hospitality industry also lacked the resources to
open representative offices in major overseas markets, Khanh said.