"Upgrading" Thanh Hoa's tourism industry.

With its abundant tourism resources and the rapid development of infrastructure, products, and other facilities, Thanh Hoa province has favorable conditions to promote the upgrading of its tourism status on the national tourism map. However, in the current challenging context, Thanh Hoa's tourism sector still faces many limitations that need to be addressed quickly to achieve its expected goals.

The Sam Son coastal tourist urban area boasts a modern system of facilities and infrastructure.

In recent years, Thanh Hoa's tourism industry has experienced a strong recovery and growth, becoming one of the provinces nationwide attracting a large number of tourists. Continuing this growth momentum, from the beginning of 2024 to the present, the province's tourism sector has continued to record breakthroughs in both visitor numbers and revenue. Notably, many new tourism products have attracted considerable attention from tourists, particularly high-class night tourism and entertainment.

According to a report by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the first seven months of 2024, the province welcomed nearly 13 million visitors, with total revenue estimated at nearly 28 trillion VND. With this impressive figure, Thanh Hoa continues to be one of the top localities nationwide with strong growth in revenue and visitor numbers compared to the same period last year. This demonstrates the correct direction and vast potential for upgrading the province's "non-polluting industry" in the future.

Although the number of tourists visiting Thanh Hoa is experiencing good growth, frankly speaking, some shortcomings and limitations still exist, such as: the number of high-end tourists and international tourists remains limited; many tourist areas and destinations lack experiential tourism products and services; and there is a shortage of high-quality human resources... In particular, the reduced number of flights to and from Tho Xuan Airport significantly impacts the province's ability to expand its tourist market.

Representatives from several tourism businesses believe that, in the current challenging context, compared to other localities in the region, Thanh Hoa tourism has many advantages, possessing a convenient transportation system, basic infrastructure that meets the needs of various customer segments, and diverse tourism products. However, to create a competitive advantage and attract high-spending tourists from key markets, it is not only necessary to develop new tourism products, but these products must also be truly unique, professional, integrated, and offer high-quality services. Mr. Le Xuan Thuan, Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa City Tourism and Travel Association, said: “In the short term, we need to focus on upgrading night tourism products, offering tourists unique and attractive experiences with diverse services. To achieve this, the province needs to research and issue appropriate mechanisms and policies, especially preferential policies on capital and taxes, to attract businesses to participate in developing night tourism services. In addition, relevant units need to continue effectively organizing key cultural, sports, and tourism events to attract tourists and enhance the tourism brand. This will also serve as a basis for travel businesses to select unique and highly attractive events to include in tours for tourists in the coming years.”

To meet the expectations and desires of tourists and the inevitable trend in development – ​​that is, comprehensive innovation in both the quantity and quality of tourism products and services – the province's tourism industry has been implementing a comprehensive set of solutions to build and develop diverse tourism products; innovate market approaches; and improve the quality of human resources. Along with this, it is mobilizing the participation of businesses in upgrading and introducing new, high-quality tourism products; and strongly supporting activities to stimulate demand and attract tourists to elevate the brand of "Thanh Hoa Tourism - The Beauty of Four Seasons". Aiming to welcome 13.8 million tourists and achieve tourism revenue of 32.387 trillion VND in 2024, this will create momentum to successfully achieve the tourism development goals for the 2021-2025 period.

According to Ms. Vuong Thi Hai Yen, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism: “We are proud that tourism activities have been experiencing rapid growth, but the results achieved do not truly reflect the inherent potential and strengths. The significant growth in the number of tourists and revenue in recent times is a positive sign, attracting much attention from domestic tourism businesses. Many amusement parks and entertainment areas such as Flamingo Ibiza Hai Tien (Hoang Hoa), Sun World Sam Son Water Park (Sam Son City) and Phan Chu Trinh pedestrian street (Thanh Hoa City) have been put into operation to serve tourists. Notably, the planning system for tourist areas and destinations is constantly being updated and adjusted to suit market needs and investment ideas. To date, the entire province has attracted 83 projects, with a total registered investment capital of approximately 146 trillion VND. This will be a favorable condition for Thanh Hoa tourism to have more opportunities to “upgrade” in the future.” "In the coming period, it will be among the localities with developed tourism industries nationwide."

Text and photos: Le Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nang-hang-cho-du-lich-thanh-hoa-221106.htm