Not immune to the impact of recent storms and heavy rains, the business operations of many tourism enterprises in Thanh Hoa province have been disrupted. To achieve their 2024 business targets, many enterprises are striving to expand their customer base, improve service quality, and develop new tourism products to attract visitors.
For Thanh Hoa's tourism businesses, the year-round tourist market remains primarily in the northern provinces and cities. However, due to the impact of storms and heavy rain, the exchange of tourists between Thanh Hoa and other locations such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Son La, Lao Cai, Bac Giang , and Bac Ninh has been disrupted. Furthermore, some northern provinces need time to recover from the aftermath of the storms, particularly the transportation system and infrastructure. Therefore, not only are business targets for September being met, but tourism activities continue to face many difficulties and limitations at this time.
Mr. Vu Van Binh, Director of Trust Viet Co., Ltd. (Thanh Hoa City), said: “According to our survey, up to 40% of our customers are ready to travel from September to December. However, due to the impact of storms and heavy rain, the KPI (Key Performance Indicator) for September could not be achieved. Therefore, travel agencies in particular, and tourism service businesses in general, have very little time left to achieve the goals set for 2024.”
According to Mr. Vu Van Binh, for travel businesses, the period from now until the end of November is a crucial time to accelerate towards the finish line. This is because in December, agencies, units, and businesses focus on production, business, and year-end summaries, resulting in very few tourists. Furthermore, at this time, travel businesses also dedicate time to developing tour packages and signing contracts for 2025.
To boost business in the final months of the year, the Travel Association (Provincial Tourism Association) and the Thanh Hoa City Tourism Association recently organized famtrip programs to survey service quality at several key domestic and international tourist destinations. The aim was to understand the current state of transportation connections between tours and routes, and to assess the quality and services of service providers in order to advise on and develop suitable itineraries after the impact of storms and heavy rain, meeting the needs of tourists.
Pham Tien Hai, Standing Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa City Tourism Association, said: “Recently (from October 8-10), we organized a famtrip to survey destinations and tourism service businesses in Lao Cai province, with the participation of more than 40 member businesses. This is one of the key tourism markets for Thanh Hoa travel businesses in the last months of the year. Through the survey program, we had specific discussions to strengthen two-way connectivity between Thanh Hoa and Lao Cai, and at the same time, gain a specific understanding of the traffic situation and services to rebuild suitable tour itineraries.”
The Standing Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa City Tourism and Travel Association also stated that, during this crucial period, businesses are focusing on exploiting traditional tourist markets. In addition, they are emphasizing increasing service value and forming new, attractive value chains. Therefore, the Thanh Hoa City Tourism and Travel Association always closely monitors the actual situation and tourism trends to provide proper guidance, helping member businesses proactively develop appropriate market approaches to achieve the best business results.
Difficulties in attracting tourists have led to a limited number of visitors to Thanh Hoa. Therefore, some accommodation and restaurant businesses in the province have taken advantage of this time to focus on investing in technology, training personnel, and upgrading facilities. In addition, some resorts in Sam Son City, Hoang Hoa District, Nghi Son Town, Ba Thuoc District, etc., have proactively revamped existing products and reduced service prices to increase competitiveness and meet business goals. In particular, resorts in the Pu Luong Community Ecotourism Area (Ba Thuoc) are currently focusing on expanding their reach to the international tourist market during the peak season at the end of the year. Furthermore, tourism service businesses in the province are actively collaborating with large enterprises and corporations to organize year-end appreciation tourism programs and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) programs for large groups.
According to Mr. Le Xuan Thao, Chairman of the Provincial Tourism Association, to successfully achieve the set goals, businesses need to innovate their approach to the market, develop short-term resort tourism products, and improve service quality. While the number of tourists is not large, this should be considered an advantage for businesses to implement solutions to optimize service quality. At this time, in addition to boosting marketing on OTAs (Online Travel Agents), tourism businesses should consider building proactive interaction channels and strengthening connections with traditional tourist markets. For tourism businesses in the province, it is necessary to activate alliances to stimulate tourism demand, working together to renew existing products and enhance year-end experiences at reasonable costs. Along with that, attention should be paid to developing night tourism products and health and wellness tourism to maximize the utilization of available services.
It can be said that, along with supportive and incentive policies from state management agencies aimed at improving quality, renewing, and developing new tourism products, businesses need to make efforts to promote tourism in several promising foreign markets. In particular, they need to accelerate digital transformation and increase the application of technology to expand market access opportunities. Only then can they achieve their business goals for 2024 with great success.
Text and photos: Hoai Anh
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/doanh-nghiep-du-lich-no-luc-but-toc-227957.htm
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