Behind the 'laughable' numbers, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry is in crisis of high-quality human resources.

Ho Chi Minh City’s tourism industry, despite impressive achievements in terms of a sharp increase in tourist arrivals, still faces the challenge of a shortage of high-quality human resources. A breakthrough international training cooperation program promises to solve this difficult problem.

Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, spoke at the press conference to announce the Swiss luxury hotel and tourism management training program in Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: THAO THUONG

On May 26, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, in collaboration with the Swiss Tourism for Sustainable Development in Vietnam (ST4SD) project, held a press conference to announce the Swiss Executive Hospitality Training (Swiss EHT) program in Ho Chi Minh City for the period 2025 - 2027.

The program aims to improve professional capacity, professional ethics, and international competitiveness of tourism and hotel personnel, contributing to promoting sustainable development of the tourism industry.

"From travel, destination, hotel, high quality human resources are weak, lacking"

At the press conference, Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, assessed Ho Chi Minh City as an attractive destination in Southeast Asia.

In 2024, many impressive results were achieved with the number of international visitors reaching more than 6 million, an increase of 20% over the same period in 2023; domestic tourists reaching 38 million, an increase of 8.6% over the same period and total tourism revenue reaching 190,000 billion VND.

Ho Chi Minh City aims to welcome about 45 million domestic visitors, 8.5 million international visitors, and total tourism revenue is estimated at VND260,000 billion by 2025.

However, according to Ms. Hieu, behind the "smiling" numbers, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry faces significant challenges.

"The most prominent problem is the problem of human resource shortage. In all conferences, we often mention the loss of human resources after COVID-19. From travel, destinations, hotels..., high-quality human resources are weak, lacking; career changes, even quitting the profession.

Over the past 3 years, the tourism industry in Ho Chi Minh City has not had enough high-quality human resources, and the management force that meets international standards is even more lacking," Ms. Hieu assessed.

Expressing the timeliness of the training program, Ms. Hieu said that this program is meaningful not only for Ho Chi Minh City tourism, but also for Vietnam tourism in general.

Ms. Hieu added that this is the first time a tourism and hotel management training program built on the basis of strategic cooperation with state agencies, international strategic organizations, and world-class facilities has been implemented in Vietnam.

"We hope that the cooperation program will help the city's tourism industry reach new heights, with high-quality human resources when equipped with valuable knowledge and experience from Switzerland," said Ms. Hieu.

Swiss Government Contribution Initiative for Vietnam Tourism Industry

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, the program will take place from 2025 to 2027, with the first class expected to open in July 2025.

Participants include state officials in charge of tourism management, as well as employees and managers at all levels at 3-5 star accommodation establishments in Ho Chi Minh City. Participants must have a labor contract and be nominated by the accommodation establishment.

EHT offers a modern training method with three levels from basic to advanced. The learning method combines online training and direct practice at hotels and restaurants.

The program is expected to provide a high-quality workforce of 400-500 students through 20-25 classes over three years. In 2025, it is expected to hold 6 classes.

Representatives of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and ST4SD project signed the training program - Photo: THAO THUONG

Mr. Olivier Messmer - head of the ST4SD project team - said that this program can be seen as an initiative from the Swiss Government to contribute to the Vietnamese tourism industry.

"Tourism has been one of Switzerland's key service industries for hundreds of years. With experience and knowledge accumulated over centuries, Swiss training institutions are always at the forefront of quality in hotel and tourism human resources.

We expect to bring a high-quality, internationally-standard workforce to the city's key economic sector."

World's No. 1 hotel management school trains human resources for Vietnam's tourism industry

According to information at the press conference, the ST4SD project invited the world's number one ranked partner, EHL Hospitality Business School (founded in 1893 in Lausanne, Switzerland, the world's first hotel management school), to participate in providing and building a flexible training program specifically for Vietnam.

The certificate issued by EHL School is a "professional passport" that opens up development opportunities in an international environment for the tourism workforce in Ho Chi Minh City; aiming for sustainable development, focusing on professional ethics, modern management thinking...

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dang-sau-nhung-con-so-biet-cuoi-nganh-du-lich-tp-hcm-khung-hoang-nhan-luc-chat-luong-cao-20250526165926226.htm