Vietnam Tourism - Viewed from the Dream of a Middle-income Person

But what we say, other countries say. Their tourism potential is not inferior and their investment is even more drastic. How to catch up and then surpass them is still a question.

The author of this article chooses the perspective of a person with an average income, who has time and likes to travel. The average income person wants to go to many places, know many places, and enjoy every moment. The average income person also wants, and actually has, the aspiration to rise above average to enjoy what he has never enjoyed.

In fact, tourism also targets many groups of people. Low-income earners and high-income earners; domestic and foreign tourists; people who "go for the experience" and people who spend money..., so there are different tourism products.

There have been many seminars, many experts, many businessmen discussing this, from the perspective as mentioned, seeing that, to have a breakthrough, there is nothing more than having a "breakthrough" tourism product, it is both unique and attractive for customers to come back.

Many examples with statistics can be cited, but to put it simply, the Phong Nha - Ke Bang cave system (in Quang Binh ) is a unique, naturally gifted tourism product that can be said to be "one of a kind".

An American acquaintance of ours, when we arrived, joked: "Even in America, it is impossible to do it." Meaning that the potential is endless (not to mention other products). But why is Quang Binh still behind its brother Quang Tri in terms of indicators when Quang Tri is considered poor?

There are many reasons, but in terms of tourism, in terms of the magnificent cave system, tourists come to see it once and very few return. Tourists do not stay long, they see it and then leave because the accompanying services are very poor. More broadly, there are many tourists who come to visit the memorial house or the tomb of General Vo Nguyen Giap, but they visit, and after visiting, they go to Hue or Vinh to stay.

In recent years, Dong Hoi has developed rapidly but the service sector is not strong. Tourists come not only to admire the scenery but also to shop and enjoy services... Those things have not been created. For example, a shopping center where tourists can "buy the whole world".

Fireworks on the Han River in Da Nang

PHOTO: NGUYEN TU

In 2000, my family moved to Da Nang, so we know. At that time, the number of tourists coming to Da Nang was less than 500,000. But in 2017, the growth rate was the highest in Asia. In 2024, international visitors are estimated to reach more than 4.1 million, exceeding the plan by 65.8%; domestic visitors are estimated to reach more than 6.7 million, exceeding the plan by 13.9%. Visitors served by accommodation establishments are estimated to reach nearly 10.9 million, an increase of 32.8% compared to 2023, exceeding the annual plan by 29.3%. An amazing development.

Why? Because Da Nang always has unique tourism products. From a popular perspective, everyone wants to see the Han River Bridge rotate, everyone wants to see the Dragon Bridge breathe fire, everyone wants to stand at the Golden Bridge (Ba Na) to take pictures, go to the water music floor in the square or everyone wants to ride the Sun Wheel, when the time comes, watch the international fireworks... Because Da Nang has a corresponding service system.

In addition, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort in Son Tra has become a symbol of international luxury resorts, where the world's billionaires meet... It was honored as "The World's Most Luxurious Resort" by the World Travel Awards. "Middle-income people" were invited to stay there by their friends and dreamed of having the opportunity to stay and pay for it with their own money.

Many people have probably been to Ha Long (Quang Ninh) because it is so famous. "Travel enthusiasts" have been there several times, the cost of transportation is high but the cost of accommodation is not much, that was when Ha Long was still "unorganized". In recent years, tourism in Quang Ninh has developed strongly. In 2024, it welcomed 19 million visitors, and the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee has just approved a tourism development project.

According to the project, Quang Ninh strives to become a tourism center connecting the region and the world. It is a destination for music, film, and international festivals; a center for organizing conferences, fairs, and exhibitions; or a leading romantic "honeymoon" destination in Asia. Along with that, Quang Ninh focuses on developing world-class resort and health care products.

To put it simply, if you want to play, you need a place to play. In other words, if you have money, you need a place to spend it. People not only work but also enjoy.

Ha Long Bay - World Natural Heritage in 1994, 2000. In 1994, Ha Long Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage for its aesthetic value and was re-recognized for the second time, with outstanding global value in geology and geomorphology in 2000.

PHOTO: PHAM QUANG VINH

Our group of friends have similar interests and incomes. We live in Da Nang, but sometimes we jokingly invite each other: "Let's go to Hue to be sad and happy" and hop on the Heritage train. Saying it's sad is because Hue holds many memories of our student days. But no, anyone who has been to Hue and gone far away misses Hue very much. The feeling of missing is often sad.

To say Hue is beautiful is not correct, but too beautiful. But after so many years of tourism there has been no breakthrough. Speaking in the words of "backpackers", it is "so smooth". Recently, there have been a few more products, not grand but impressive like the Lim wooden bridge or Nguyen Hoang bridge... attracting a lot of tourists. Coming to Hue now, I see a more "spiritual" Hue. I have never seen anywhere else where I spend as little money as Hue when traveling. 200,000 VND per day to eat, both filling and delicious.

But Hue still lacks a breakthrough to attract visitors like the Great Stupa of Drigung Kagyu Rinchen Khorchen Khorwe Go Gek Lam Dong, and there is no high-class commercial and service center for people to spend money. It lacks a Bach Ma "must do something".

From an altitude of more than 3,174 m above sea level, surrounded by clouds, Fansipan (Sa Pa, Lao Cai) makes visitors feel like they are lost in a fairyland because of the extremely charming natural scenery of the Northwest mountains and forests.

PHOTO: BUI VAN HAI

The story is a bit rambling but just wants to express one thing, tourism from exploiting the potential of nature, from what is available, yes, but it must have a unique point. Uniqueness here is sometimes just the behavioral culture of people working in tourism - services and the whole community.

We should not "do what others do" because it will be saturated, and saturation will lead to failure. In places that are already unique, we should reorganize and re-plan to "collect money from tourists". After merging the provinces, the key point is not where the administrative center is located but the commercial, service, and entertainment centers. And, there must be high-class constructions and high-class services that "nowhere else in the world" can provide, forcing people to choose.