Opportunities for Vietnamese tourism

International visitors to Vietnam in the first quarter of 2024 broke the record set for the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reporter : According to data recently released by the General Statistics Office, in the first quarter of this year, the number of international visitors to Vietnam reached over 4.6 million, an increase of 72% compared to the same period last year and a 3.2% increase compared to the same period in 2019. Minister, what factors contributed to this success?

Mr. NGUYEN VAN HUNG, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism

- Mr. Nguyen Van Hung , Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism : Continuing the recovery trend of the last months of 2023, in the first three months of 2024, the number of international visitors to Vietnam has grown positively. The number of visitors in the past three months has averaged over 1.5 million and is trending upwards.

In March 2024 alone, Vietnam received nearly 1.6 million international visitors, a 4.4% increase compared to the previous month and a 78.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Many source markets recorded good growth, such as Japan, Belgium, France, and Singapore. The large Chinese market continued its positive recovery, reaching over 350,000 visitors, a 19% increase compared to the previous month.

The above results were achieved thanks to the regular and timely attention and guidance of the Party, the National Assembly , the Government, and the Prime Minister for the tourism industry. In addition, the close coordination of ministries, sectors, and localities, along with the consensus of the business community and the people, created favorable conditions for tourism recovery and acceleration.

On the other hand, the achievements are also the result of research, innovation, product renewal, and the effectiveness of a targeted approach to market needs, as well as diverse promotional and marketing efforts by tourism businesses, destinations, and tourism management agencies from the central to local levels.

Another important factor is the clear impact of the visa policy implemented from August 15, 2023: increasing the temporary stay period from 15 days to 45 days for countries with unilateral visa exemptions and implementing electronic visa issuance for all countries with a temporary stay period of up to 90 days.

I believe that the new policy, which facilitates easier access for international tourists, is a significant milestone for Vietnamese tourism in 2023. It reflects a positive shift in the perception of the role, position, and contribution of the tourism industry to the economy, helping to remove long-standing barriers to the industry, and will have a long-term impact on making tourism a truly key economic sector of the country.

This year, the tourism industry has set a major target of welcoming 18 million international visitors and 110 million domestic visitors. What solutions can help tourism achieve a breakthrough and potentially surpass these targets, Minister?

- Setting these goals aims to create motivation for the entire tourism industry. The important thing is that we must promote the development of Vietnamese tourism in a substantive, comprehensive, rapid, and sustainable manner in the coming time. The tourism industry needs to effectively implement the motto "Close linkage - Harmonious coordination - Comprehensive cooperation".

Besides effectively implementing tasks, we will proactively coordinate with ministries, sectors, and localities to continue advising and proposing mechanisms, policies, and solutions to accelerate tourism development. This will focus on leveraging the guiding and connecting role of central and local management agencies in linking models, as well as the leading role of tourism centers to form interconnected regions and growth drivers.

Furthermore, we must continue to innovate and create more unique tourism products based on the distinct potential and competitive advantages of each locality and region, catering to a wide range of domestic and international tourists. This should be coupled with strengthened cooperation to diversify resources and significantly innovate methods and content for promotion and advertising in distant, high-spending markets, boosting the development of a smart tourism ecosystem linked to digital transformation to enhance infrastructure connectivity, support, and improve the tourist experience…

International tourists visiting Da Nang City. Photo: TAN THANH

The number of international tourists visiting Vietnam is increasing, but the important issue is to encourage them to stay longer, spend more, and return to Vietnam more often. What are your thoughts on this, Minister ?

- I agree with this viewpoint. At the 2023 National Online Tourism Conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pointed out that the trend of globalization and deep international integration, especially the Fourth Industrial Revolution, poses many challenges and difficulties, requiring innovative thinking, new approaches, and new methods to develop the tourism industry.

The strategic orientation of Vietnam's tourism is to develop in a professional, high-quality, and efficient direction; shifting from breadth to depth based on leveraging and promoting unique potential, outstanding opportunities, and competitive advantages while protecting the environment, natural resources, culture, traditions, and the beauty of Vietnam's land and people.

Minister , what specific solutions do we need to implement to encourage more international tourists to return, stay longer, and spend more?

- First, we need to create attractive products. We need to leverage Vietnam's unique natural potential, culture, cuisine, people, and music to create appealing tourism products. For cultural tourism, we need to develop cultural tours that allow visitors to learn about Vietnam's history, traditions, and customs; and at the same time, build destinations that can include historical sites, traditional craft villages, and distinctive festivals.

For nature tourism, we need to effectively utilize and exploit Vietnam's unique natural landscapes; organize mountain climbing tours, forest and mountain exploration tours, and visits to nature reserves…

We also need to focus on developing culinary tourism, opening more food tours so that tourists can enjoy local specialties, learn how to prepare and cook dishes. At the same time, we should focus on exploiting the strengths of coastal and island tourism by organizing scuba diving tours, island tours, and water sports activities. Community tourism is also a strength; we need to combine tourism with support for local communities. We need more homestay tours so that tourists can immerse themselves in the unique cultural identity of the local people.

In addition, we will continue to improve administrative procedures, simplify visa procedures, and implement e-visas to facilitate international tourists. At the same time, we will strengthen promotion and marketing, utilizing media channels, events, and collaborations with international partners to create interest and a desire to explore new lands and experiences in Vietnam.

I believe that "good wine needs no bush." ​​If we do a good job of developing our tourism products, have appropriate tourism promotion methods, and offer favorable access to destinations and competitive prices, then international tourists will inevitably stay longer, spend more, and return to Vietnam more often.

Reaching key markets

In order to create a breakthrough in the tourism industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will implement several important and urgent tasks in the coming period: Continuing to research and propose short-term visa exemptions for tourists from some potential, large-scale markets with high tourism spending; strengthening state management, raising awareness and responsibility of localities and destinations in managing service quality, ensuring environmental hygiene, and creating a good impression for tourists...

Simultaneously, promote the opening of new routes and increase the frequency of existing direct flights between key tourist destinations in Vietnam and target tourist markets. At the same time, strengthen direct promotional activities in key, traditional, and emerging international markets such as Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Western Europe, North America, Australia, India, and the Middle East. Another important solution is to leverage the resources of businesses, airlines, and major distribution partners to expand reach to key and potential markets.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-co-cua-du-lich-viet-196240331175951106.htm