International tourists experience tourism in Hue.

The problem of quantity and quality

Despite encouraging growth in visitor numbers, the average spending of tourists in Hue remains a concern. A brief comparison reveals a significant disparity between Hue's tourism and other localities in Central Vietnam.

Considering that in localities where provincial-level administrative units had not yet been reorganized, in 2024, the average spending per tourist in Hue was approximately 2.1 million VND/person, significantly lower than Da Nang (approximately 4.2 million VND/person) and Quang Nam (approximately 4.5 million VND/person). Besides the fact that Hue's tourism products, services, and shopping options are not yet attractive enough to encourage tourists to spend, another reason pointed out by tourism professionals is the relatively modest level of attracting high-end tourists to Hue.

Looking at the number of cruise ship passengers – considered high-end travelers – who disembark at Chan May port and are picked up by vehicles with license plates bearing the number 43 and transported to Da Nang and Hoi An, one can't help but feel sorry for Hue. Similarly, recently, Indian tourists and Halal tourists, who are potentially high-spending groups, have already visited many other localities; their presence in Hue has yet to make a significant impact.

A representative of a tourism business in Hue affirmed that between earning 100 million VND serving 100 tourists and earning 100 million VND serving 50 tourists, tourism businesses always prefer the second option. The reason is that serving fewer tourists but generating higher profits allows tourism professionals to focus on providing better service and saves on operating costs. Furthermore, it facilitates the long-term maintenance of facilities.

According to some travel businesses, attracting and experiencing strong growth in the number of tourists is encouraging. However, the numbers won't mean much if tourists spend very little on tourism activities. In other words, tourism revenue, spending levels, and length of stay remain more important metrics than the number of tourists.

Mr. Dinh Manh Thang, Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association and President of the Hue City Tourism Association, expressed his concern: “Besides focusing on increasing the number of tourists, Hue tourism must find ways to attract spending from tourists. To attract high-end tourists, we need high-end services and high-end investors. This is also the aspiration of Hue tourism, but it is still lacking.”

How can we attract high-end customers?

This is an issue of concern to local authorities, the tourism industry, and businesses. In its tourism development strategy, Hue has focused on attracting high-end tourists with high spending power. In fact, Hue has oriented itself towards developing products and focusing on cruise tourism, golf tourism, MICE tourism, and many other types of tourism that appeal to high-end tourists. However, much remains to be done to attract these high-end tourists.

A study by Oxford Economics (a leading independent economic consulting firm based in Oxford, England) shows that high-end travelers are interested in unique, highly competitive service quality and popular destinations around the world. In the culinary sector alone, travelers are willing to pay an additional 10% for premium services.

Hue has great potential to become a high-quality tourist destination with its unique natural and cultural resources and distinctive cuisine. Besides maintaining and developing traditional tourist markets, Hue tourism needs a roadmap and a shift towards high-end tourism to attract high-spending tourists. With its culinary advantages alone, if properly invested in – from building compelling narratives to spreading the meaning and value of Vietnamese cuisine to the international community in a broader and more profound way – more high-end tourists will be drawn to Hue.

Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Information and Promotion Center, believes that it is necessary to strengthen market research and understand the needs of high-end tourists; invest in developing high-end tourism products, focusing on unique elements and harmony with nature and the environment in experiential products and services; upgrade the quality of services towards professionalism, providing complete experiences for high-end tourists; and focus on training and improving the quality of human resources serving high-end tourists.

According to Tran Thi Hoai Tram, Director of the Department of Tourism, Hue's development strategy focuses on investing in the construction of high-end shopping centers, entertainment services, Hue cuisine, and cultural and artistic performances in the Chan May port area and its surroundings to serve cruise ship tourists. In addition, resources will be concentrated on developing several tourism clusters and high-end seaside resorts with established brands in the international tourism market.

In the context of the entire tourism industry striving to become a key economic sector as outlined in Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW dated January 16, 2017, of the Politburo, focusing on developing high-quality tourism and attracting high-spending tourists is considered one of the breakthrough solutions for the industry to achieve its goals. Efforts from the local government and the tourism sector alone are insufficient; additional support from businesses and investors is needed, especially in high-end services and accommodation, areas where Hue currently lacks. A strategy can be realized through investment in appropriate mechanisms and policies, and a strong commitment to developing tourism to its full potential.

Text and photos: HUU PHUC

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/du-lich/giai-phap-de-thu-hut-khach-du-lich-cao-cap-156275.html