Opportunities for tourism in Binh Thuan to "take off"

At the recent online conference summarizing the work of 2023 and outlining key tasks for 2024, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized: Over the past year, the role, awareness, and actions in the fields of culture, sports, and tourism have been enhanced; at the same time, he also pointed out some shortcomings, difficulties, and challenges that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must frankly acknowledge in order to propose solutions and overcome them.

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Bui The Nhan, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Binh Thuan province, said: In 2023, the province had the honor of hosting the National Tourism Year with the theme "Binh Thuan - Green Convergence". The series of activities was brilliantly successful, creating a positive effect, attracting the attention of all social strata, and mobilizing community strength in promoting the rapid recovery and sustainable development of tourism. In 2023, Binh Thuan welcomed more than 8.5 million tourists with total tourism revenue reaching over 23,000 billion VND (almost double compared to 2022), making it one of the 9 provinces and cities with the highest tourism revenue in the country. This result will be a "boost" for Binh Thuan tourism to become a bright spot in the development of tourism in Central Vietnam and the whole country in the coming time, contributing to the recovery and development of Vietnamese tourism.

Phan Thiet - Vinh Hao Expressway. Photo by N. Lan

Entering 2024, amidst a predicted challenging economic environment and changing customer sentiment, "refreshing" tourism products and creating differentiation are considered essential for travel businesses to survive and thrive. Therefore, Binh Thuan's tourism industry needs and will have to create unique and attractive experiences to attract a wider range of customers and achieve more positive results.

Binh Thuan possesses natural and climatic advantages, and the province is currently improving its internal and external transportation infrastructure. Taking advantage of the newly inaugurated Phan Thiet - Dau Giay and Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet expressways, travel time for tourists has been significantly reduced. Successfully hosting the 2023 National Tourism Year "Binh Thuan - Green Convergence" has presented a great opportunity for local tourism to become a major attraction on the tourism map of Central Vietnam and the entire country. It is hoped that Binh Thuan's tourism will maintain its growth momentum, successfully implement its commitment to developing green and sustainable tourism, and gradually make tourism a key economic sector of the province.

It is necessary to showcase Binh Thuan's rich history of over 300 years, which has shaped its unique and long-standing cultural characteristics; to develop sustainable tourism based on its strengths in topography, climate, and human resources, while preserving and promoting national identity; to emphasize the convergence of many distinctive cultures, the convergence of land, sky, and people in Binh Thuan; and to affirm the spirit of integration and the convergence of all advantages for development. Leveraging these advantages, Binh Thuan will persistently pursue the goal of developing green, sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism that harmonizes with nature; preserving and promoting historical relics, traditional craft villages, and unique festivals; diversifying and improving the quality of products and services, and elevating Binh Thuan's tourism status.

Tourists visiting and relaxing at Ke Ga beach, Ham Thuan Nam district. Photo by N. Lan.

Furthermore, Binh Thuan's tourism industry needs to invest heavily in human resources and technology, "refresh" tourism products; establish broader strategic partnerships to secure the best pricing policies, especially participating in provincial tourism promotion and advertising programs; promote diversification of products and services, design new tourism products in the "budget" and "luxury" tour segments, focus on eco-tourism and resort products, concentrate on tourism products serving large, high-spending, and long-stay tourist markets, pay attention to golf tourism, cruise tourism, and develop culinary, entertainment, and shopping activities…

However, it is also necessary to frankly acknowledge some shortcomings in the province's tourism sector, primarily the ineffective linkages between Binh Thuan and other ministries, sectors, and localities, especially in management, promotion, product development, and human resources. There is still a tendency for each sector to act independently; inter-sectoral linkages, particularly between transportation, industry and trade, and healthcare, are not strong enough to form partnerships and collaborative development; and there are no national-level tourism stimulus campaigns. Tourism products do not truly reflect Binh Thuan's unique potential and competitive advantages. Market forecasting and development orientation are not clear or realistic. Digital transformation in tourism at both the provincial and district levels is not synchronized. Tourism promotion and marketing lack a comprehensive and long-term vision. The mobilization and allocation of resources for tourism promotion remain fragmented.

For Binh Thuan tourism to truly "take off" and attract tourists, achieving the goal of increasing revenue, practical solutions are needed to enhance the attractiveness of the destination and to put tourists at the center. To achieve this, it requires not only the determination and efforts of the tourism industry alone, but also the attention and involvement of other sectors, localities, businesses, and the community. Everyone must participate in the process of "professionalizing" and improving the quality of tourism products and services, contributing to building an attractive and friendly image of Binh Thuan as a destination, and gradually establishing the Binh Thuan tourism brand in the direction of high quality.

After more than two years of implementing Resolution No. 06 on tourism development until 2025, with a vision to 2030, Binh Thuan province has identified tourism development as a shared responsibility of the entire political system, all levels and sectors, and the whole society, under the close leadership and guidance of Party committees at all levels and the unified management of the State; strongly promoting the driving role of businesses and the local community. With the determination to make tourism a key economic sector, the leaders of Binh Thuan province always create favorable conditions for investors and businesses to invest and operate in the locality, effectively implementing the motto "Every citizen of Binh Thuan is a tourism ambassador," working together to build the image and brand of Binh Thuan tourism as a safe, friendly, and civilized destination for domestic and international tourists.

Concluding the 2023 National Tourism Year: “Binh Thuan - Green Convergence”, Binh Thuan's tourism sector has shown signs of improvement with this growth momentum. It is expected that the province's tourism will make a breakthrough in the new year 2024 and beyond. This also creates momentum for the "smokeless industry" of Binh Thuan to take off.

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/co-hoi-cho-du-lich-binh-thuan-cat-canh-116084.html