Vietnamese tourism cannot be inferior.

Businessman Ngo Minh Duc, Chairman of HG Holdings: Vietnamese tourism cannot be inferior. Despite existing difficulties, Mr. Ngo Minh Duc, Chairman of HG Holdings, believes that Vietnam is a truly attractive destination in the market. "Opportunities always exist; the key is the determination and effort of those working in tourism."

Businessman Ngo Minh Duc, Chairman of HG Holdings.

"This coming March, the world's largest international travel fair, ITB Berlin (Germany), will again not have a joint booth for Vietnam," lamented Mr. Ngo Minh Duc. Last year, for the first time in many years, Vietnam also did not have a joint booth at the London World Travel Fair 2023.

Having worked in tourism for nearly 30 years, Mr. Duc clearly sees the changes in the tourism market after the Covid-19 pandemic and the new demands. The Chinese tourist flow, which used to account for over 30% of visitors to Vietnam, may not have recovered yet, given China's ongoing campaign to attract domestic tourists. The economic difficulties in the US and EU will undoubtedly have a significant impact on people's spending decisions, including travel. Japan, a major source of tourists for Vietnam, is showing many negative signs as the yen continues to depreciate, falling 6% against the USD since the beginning of this year, meaning a drop of over 20% in the past two years, leading Japanese people to continue tightening their belts.

ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia are increasingly demonstrating their determination to promote and attract tourists back. Mr. Duc said that businesses in these countries are extensively promoting policies to attract tourists, along with efforts to connect and reduce costs for visitors.

Meanwhile, the promotional atmosphere for Vietnam as a tourist destination seems insufficient, despite many attractive new policies such as the issuance of e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories from August 15, 2023, and the extension of the e-visa validity period from 30 to 90 days. The government has also extended the temporary stay period from 15 to 45 days for citizens of 13 countries with which Vietnam unilaterally grants visa exemptions…

We need to do a lot in destination promotion so that Vietnamese tourism can quickly return to its 2019 levels. Businesses cannot stand idly by.

In particular, at the beginning of 2024, according to assessments from many international travel advisory platforms, Vietnam continued to be an attractive destination, with many places mentioned in must-visit lists. Besides Hanoi and Hoi An, which were named in the Top 10 world destinations, Ha Long Bay and Sa Pa, two famous Vietnamese landmarks, ranked 3rd and 5th respectively in TripAdvisor's list of trending destinations. Hanoi ranked first with its delicious food, attracting diners in the culinary category…

“The positive feedback from tourists and the issuance of e-visas to visitors from all countries have helped the tourism industry increase its competitiveness, but we need to do more in promoting destinations so that Vietnamese tourism can quickly return to the 2019 milestone. In particular, tourism businesses cannot stand idly by,” Mr. Duc shared when mentioning the figure of over 18 million international visitors to Vietnam and 8.6 million visitors to Ho Chi Minh City in 2019 as a target to be reached again.

HG Holdings was one of the first companies to lay the groundwork for direct flights between Vietnam and India, bringing Indian tourists to Vietnam shortly after Vietnam reopened international tourism.

This is also the fastest-recovering customer segment for HG Group in the past year, Mr. Duc said. This is partly because HG Group represents IndiGo Airlines – India's largest airline in Vietnam – since IndiGo officially entered the Vietnamese market with a direct flight connecting Kolkata and Hanoi, operating since October 2019. It's also partly because he gained valuable experience implementing a gradual closure strategy, rather than shutting down completely, to survive the pandemic, thus gaining experience in finding niches to reopen in stages.

Currently, Mr. Duc said, connecting the Buddhist community in Vietnam with important religious cities in India is creating a new source of tourists for both countries, as well as for businesses in the industry. After the pandemic, IndiGo Airlines returned to the market with its first direct flight between Vietnam and India…

"It's challenging, but this is an opportunity that businesses are determined to seize, even though it's not yet the right time for large investments. Therefore, at this time, the government and the tourism community are very much needed to promote Vietnam as a destination," Mr. Duc shared his perspective.

This year, in addition to traditional markets such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar, HG Holdings plans to expand more extensively in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, following its expansion into Indonesia and the Philippines in 2023. Plans to open sales offices in the UK, France, the US, and Australia are also underway.

In particular, Mr. Duc is paying closer attention to the more ambitious strategy in Thailand, especially since last October, when Thai Airways decided to close its office in Vietnam and switch to cooperating with HG Group in operating routes. Frankly, Thailand is a large market with great potential. Thai Airways has an extensive global flight network, with many direct routes connecting to Europe and America.

According to Mr. Duc's calculations, this is an opportunity for Vietnam to attract tourists from distant markets. Through Thailand, the leading aviation hub in the region, businesses will develop ASEAN into a common destination, boosting the attraction of high-spending tourists, as well as MICE groups to Vietnam to organize many large-scale activities and events...

However, Mr. Duc acknowledged that, despite the opportunities, this is a period where business leaders must be vigilant and use cash flow as efficiently as possible…

Vietnam has many attractive destinations for tourists. In the photo: Hoi An is ranked among the Top 10 destinations in the world by TripAdvisor.

Up to this point, the Gotadi travel booking app has taken up a lot of Mr. Duc's time and energy.

Nearly 10 years ago, in September 2014, the Gotadi brand officially launched after two years of preparation and system and data development. It is a comprehensive, purely Vietnamese online travel agency (OTA) service and product, exclusively for Vietnamese people.

In the mindset and vision of its founder, Ngo Minh Duc, Gotadi provides comprehensive online travel services on a single website, with the determination to create a modern online travel habit specifically for Vietnamese people.

However, Mr. Duc acknowledged that Vietnam's OTA market is developing very rapidly, with a few notable domestic brands consciously seeking solutions to regain market share (such as Gotadi, iVivu, Chudu24, or Mytour Vietnam), but no less than 80% of the market share is held by foreign "giants".

"OTAs are like a difficult and expensive 'subject' to study," Mr. Duc stated frankly. In this game, businesses need both technology and financial strength to compete with foreign companies that have many advantages, from technology, experience, brand reputation, and especially money. Some information indicates that foreign OTA sites spend no less than $60 to acquire a customer.

This is why Mr. Duc determined that Gotadi had to differentiate itself in both customer approach and growth. Focusing on serving businesses, as this is a sustainable customer group with high loyalty, is considered a core strategy. Since 2022, Gotadi has launched the Gotadi Business Travel Management (BTM) solution, aimed at serving businesses and promoting economic growth. This model is not new globally, but in Vietnam, businesses need to issue invoices, and most foreign OTAs only have representative offices in Vietnam, which cannot yet perform this function. In other words, choosing this niche strategy not only avoids the red ocean currently affecting the B2C sector but also provides Gotadi with ample room to thrive in the future.

However, by the end of 2023, Gotadi's founder stated that the market the platform operates in was experiencing declining demand, competition from foreign OTAs was increasing, and there were not many policies protecting Vietnamese businesses, resulting in Gotadi's growth remaining negative. HG Holdings is now having to nurture Gotadi from other sources.

"This year, our main focus is on strongly restructuring our technology segment, finding new directions in niche markets, such as targeting pharmaceutical, financial, and oil and gas companies, thereby leveraging our strengths more and continuing to invest to maintain our brand in an economy that still faces many challenges," Mr. Duc shared.

Specifically, in 2024, HG Group aims for a growth rate of 10% to 15% as the company increases investment in countries in the region, develops its tourism and aviation businesses, and restructures Gotadi.

"Vietnam's tourism industry cannot be inferior, because we have many advantages and always have opportunities; the key is the determination and effort of those working in tourism. I believe in this," said Mr. Ngo Minh Duc.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/doanh-nhan-ngo-minh-duc-chu-tich-hg-holdings-du-lich-viet-khong-the-kem-duoc-d209444.html