Hanoi (VNS/VNA)♔ - Variousproblems in Vietnam’s tourism sector were discussed by experts at the firstTravel & Tourism Summit that began in Hanoi on December 5.

The event gathers some 1,500participants including CEOs from leading groups in the world, domestic andforeign tourism experts and nearly 1,000 enterprises. Participants will hear reports andanalyses by leaders in domestic and foreign tourism. At the first session, Deputy Ministerof Culture, Sports and Tourism Le Quang Tung admitted Vietnam needs to re-structurethe sector.  “In 1990, the country received250,000 foreign tourists while in 2017, it welcomed more than 13 millionforeign visitors and 73 million domestic tourists,” he said. “So from 1990 to2017, the number of foreign tourists increased 52 times while domestic touristsincreased 72 times.” However, Vietnam just ranked 67th of136 economies and fifth in Southeast Asia, according to the GlobalCompetitiveness Report in competitiveness capacity. Tung said Vietnamese tourism’sobstacles included poor infrastructure, weak human resources, low capacity ofmanaging destinations and developing tourism along with environmentalprotection. “Thus re-structuring tourism is amust,” he said. The deputy minister also revealedthat Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had just approved a project to restructurethe tourism sector, which focuses on potential markets and developing humanresources. The project aims to increase tourismsector revenue to 45 billion USD, more almost double the amount from last year,contributing 10 percent to the GDP and creating 6 million jobs by 2025. Kenneth Atkinson, executive chairmanof Grant Thornton Vietnam Ltd, a business advisor firm, said Vietnam hasgreat potential to develop tourism, with many luxury hotels in big cities. Thailand needed 20 years to reachthe 30 million visitors it receives annually today. Atkinson noted the numberof tourists to Vietnam in 2017 (12.6 million) increased to 16 million in 2017,which was a positive signal. “If the tourism infrastructure isinvested properly, the country has more chances to increase the touristnumbers,” he said. “Maybe just seven years to reach Thailand’s present numberof tourists.” He suggested Vietnam shoulddiversify sources of tourists, focus on quality rather than quantity, protectthe environment and avoid harming the scenery. Olivier Muehlstein - CEO of BCGSingapore said Vietnam should determine its target markets and build atrademark for tourism to attract group tours and entice tourists to return to thecountry. He also suggested loosening visapolicies to attract visitors. The summit is hosted by the PrivateEconomy Development Research Board, the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism, National Tourism Advisory Board and VNExpress online newspaper. Theevent is in the framework of the Vietnam Economic Forum 2018.-VNS/VNA