"Reference" tourism development index

Quang Nam province is highly rated for its tourism resources (both natural and cultural) according to the VTDI 2023 ranking. In the photo: Dai Binh eco-tourism village (Nong Son district) located along the Thu Bon River. Photo: QT

Key highlights

Since the official results have not yet been announced, the specific ranking of Quang Nam tourism according to the Vietnam Tourism Development Index 2023 is unclear.

Nevertheless, the analysis by experts at the Quang Nam Green Tourism Model workshop recently held in Hoi An City has somewhat reflected the overall capacity of Quang Nam tourism according to the VTDI 2023.

VTDI is an assessment tool based on 5 groups of indicators, 17 pillars, and 111 indicators calculated from survey data and quantitative data sources.

According to VTDI's 2023 assessment of Quang Nam tourism, the indicators showing strengths compared to the national average include: natural resources, cultural resources, environmental and energy sustainability in tourism, and aviation infrastructure.

In particular, natural resources and cultural resources have significantly higher scores than the average (rated at 3.79 points compared to the overall average of 3.18 points).

The uneven distribution of tourist density (overcrowding in Hoi An Old Town) has long been an inherent weakness of Quang Nam's tourism industry. Photo: QT

This is understandable because Quang Nam is the only locality nationwide to possess two UNESCO-recognized World Cultural Heritage sites, in addition to the Cham Islands - Hoi An World Biosphere Reserve.

Quang Nam province has also assessed and identified 125 tourism resources, including 58 natural tourism resources and 67 cultural tourism resources.

Meanwhile, several notable indicators of Quang Nam tourism were rated low according to the VTDI 2023, such as: Uneven distribution of tourist density; favorable environment (including business environment, safety and security, level of information technology readiness, etc.); socio-economic impact of tourism, etc.

In terms of tourism sustainability indicators, Quang Nam province is only at an average level, not yet a strong point, despite the local government's significant focus on this issue in recent years.

Mr. Truong Nam Thang, a senior expert in tourism marketing and policy at the Swiss Sustainable Tourism Program, analyzed that all five indicators in the pillar impacting the socio-economic aspects of tourism in Quang Nam are below average.

The low socio-economic impact of tourism in Quang Nam is due to low revenue from tourism-related services, the relatively low contribution of tourism to the province's GRDP, and the limited average income in the accommodation and food sectors.

Improve synchronization

To further improve the index based on the results from VTDI 2023, experts recommend that Quang Nam needs to promote cooperation with local businesses, communities, and travel agencies to ensure that the benefits of tourism are widely distributed. Implement programs that encourage local entrepreneurship in tourism-related activities.

Mr. Truong Nam Thang, a senior expert in tourism marketing and policy at the Swiss Sustainable Tourism Program, analyzes Quang Nam's tourism indicators based on the VTDI 2023 assessment results. Photo: QT

Mr. Tran Xuan Moi, Director of ATM Management Consulting Company, believes that strongly developing community tourism and rural tourism by integrating programs, tours, and products in these areas into tourism companies to increase social interaction, harmoniously share economic benefits, and reduce the carrying capacity of core destination areas is an effective way to improve the socio-economic impact indicators of tourism.

Prioritizing tourism and travel is also a crucial solution to enhance local tourism capacity. This requires close collaboration with government agencies to prioritize tourism in policy planning and budget allocation. Cooperation with provinces that score highly in this pillar is also a way to better understand effective approaches to tourism development.

According to Mr. Truong Nam Thang, tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, so the tourism management agency alone cannot improve and enhance the indicators according to the VTDI 2023; it requires the synchronized involvement of relevant functional agencies.

"Many indicators in Quang Nam are rated poorly but are unrelated to the tourism industry and are managed by various departments and agencies."

Therefore, we hope that after the official index is published, Quang Nam will hold technical meetings to analyze each group of indicators and pillars to understand where local tourism is strong and weak, and which agencies and units will be responsible for improving each aspect," said Mr. Truong Nam Thang.

The VTDI 2023 is based on an independent assessment by domestic and international organizations across 30 provinces and cities with strong tourism development in Vietnam. In 2021, Quang Nam ranked 4th out of 15 provinces and cities surveyed according to the Vietnam Provincial Tourism Destination Competitiveness Index.

The project to develop a set of indicators for the competitiveness of Vietnamese provincial tourism destinations is funded and technically supported by the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, and has been provided to the National Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) since 2019. Its objective is to promote the enhancement of tourism competitiveness in each locality, contributing to the overall competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tham-chieu-chi-so-phat-trien-du-lich-3139903.html