Ben Thanh market in Ho Chi Minh City (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Foreign arrivals to Ho Chi MinhCity have soared more than 14 times over the past 25 years, accounting forabout half of the nationwide total, an official reveal on August 16.
Deputy director of the municipal Department of Tourism NguyenThi Anh Hoa told a seminar, held in the city that the number of foreigntourists in Ho Chi Minh City reached 519,000 in 1993 and surged to about 6.4million in 2017.
The figure hit 3.8 million in the first half and is forecastto reach about 7.5 million later this year. Inbound tourists soared from around1 million to 24.9 million last year.
Revenue from tourism marked a 40-fold increase during the1997-2017 period, making up roughly 11 percent of the city’s gross regionaldevelopment product (GRDP).
Hoa said travel firms of the city have proved their prestigeand brand names to inbound and outbound tourists, and often make up among halfof the top 10 travel companies in the country.
However, according to her, the municipal tourism sector stillfaces difficulties in management such as the lack of not only a developmentstrategy and skilled workforce, but also of diverse products and services to extend visitors’ stayand increase their spending.
Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Education AssociationPham Trung Luong said the municipal tourism sector is yet to advise authoritiesto issue breakthrough policies turning the city into a desired destination, norcreated signature products such as shopping and community-based ecologicaltourism.
The sector is also yet to link up with localities in theeffort, especially those in the southeastern region, the Mekong Delta, and othermajor tourist landmarks in the region, he said.
Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Bui Ta HoangVu pledged to continue refining a strategy to develop tourist products andhuman resources via technological application in the near future. –VNA
Deputy director of the municipal Department of Tourism NguyenThi Anh Hoa told a seminar, held in the city that the number of foreigntourists in Ho Chi Minh City reached 519,000 in 1993 and surged to about 6.4million in 2017.
The figure hit 3.8 million in the first half and is forecastto reach about 7.5 million later this year. Inbound tourists soared from around1 million to 24.9 million last year.
Revenue from tourism marked a 40-fold increase during the1997-2017 period, making up roughly 11 percent of the city’s gross regionaldevelopment product (GRDP).
Hoa said travel firms of the city have proved their prestigeand brand names to inbound and outbound tourists, and often make up among halfof the top 10 travel companies in the country.
However, according to her, the municipal tourism sector stillfaces difficulties in management such as the lack of not only a developmentstrategy and skilled workforce, but also of diverse products and services to extend visitors’ stayand increase their spending.
Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Education AssociationPham Trung Luong said the municipal tourism sector is yet to advise authoritiesto issue breakthrough policies turning the city into a desired destination, norcreated signature products such as shopping and community-based ecologicaltourism.
The sector is also yet to link up with localities in theeffort, especially those in the southeastern region, the Mekong Delta, and othermajor tourist landmarks in the region, he said.
Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Bui Ta HoangVu pledged to continue refining a strategy to develop tourist products andhuman resources via technological application in the near future. –VNA
VNA
