Vietnam should do more to encourage domestic tourism to counter theongoing and damaging decrease in the number of foreign visitors,according to one of the country’s top tourism officials.
Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism (VNAT), said that impressive increases have been seen in numberof Vietnamese tourists who decide to explore their home country ratherthan travel abroad, but suggested that more services could be offered toboost this number even more.
In the first fourmonths of this year, the sector served 25 million domestic travellers,up 10 percent over the same period last year, he noted, presenting agolden opportunity for the tourism sector.
However,in peak seasons and long holidays, tourism destinations and resorts havebeen quick to become overloaded across the country, leading to a risein cost and a decline in service quality, he noted.
Some localities still managed to provide for visitors, including thecentral city of Da Nang , where local households are encouraged toserve tourists and allow them to use their private toilets to makevisitors feel at home. Neighbouring Hoi An has also maintained afriendly tourism environment despite high number of visitors, said Tuan.
Meanwhile, on Ly Son Island in the centralprovince of Quang Ngai , where services for tourists have beenlimited, locals have invited visitors to stay in their homes for free.
Tuan also pointed out that domestic tours are facingfierce competition from economical tours abroad, especially to someASEAN countries.
According to the VietnamAssociation of Tourism, the number of Vietnamese people travellingabroad rises about 10 percent every year, with most going to China,Japan, the Republic of Korea and western Europe, besides ASEANcountries.
Attractive prices and good servicesprovided by the tours make them extremely competitive, argued Tuan,noting that a tour to Japan currently costs 20 million VND (920 USD),while a five-day trip to the RoK only costs 16 million USD (760 USD).Sometimes, a five-day trip to Thailand can cost under 5 million VND(230 USD), even lower than Vietnam Airlines’ two-way air fare on theHanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, he said.
Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of VNAT’s Travel Department, said that adomestic tourism promotion programme, which was launched in 2014 whenthe number of foreign visitors first dropped sharply following a highperiod of tensions in the wake of China’s illegal deployment of an oilrig in Vietnam’s waters, has seen active response from travel agencies.
Thousands of new tourism products and tours havebeen introduced to travellers since then, offering diverse choices toexplore the beauty across the country.
Last year,the domestic tourism served over 35 million Vietnamese travellers,exceeding its set target. This year, the sector is expected to welcome37.5 million tourists, said Phuong.-VNA
Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism (VNAT), said that impressive increases have been seen in numberof Vietnamese tourists who decide to explore their home country ratherthan travel abroad, but suggested that more services could be offered toboost this number even more.
In the first fourmonths of this year, the sector served 25 million domestic travellers,up 10 percent over the same period last year, he noted, presenting agolden opportunity for the tourism sector.
However,in peak seasons and long holidays, tourism destinations and resorts havebeen quick to become overloaded across the country, leading to a risein cost and a decline in service quality, he noted.
Some localities still managed to provide for visitors, including thecentral city of Da Nang , where local households are encouraged toserve tourists and allow them to use their private toilets to makevisitors feel at home. Neighbouring Hoi An has also maintained afriendly tourism environment despite high number of visitors, said Tuan.
Meanwhile, on Ly Son Island in the centralprovince of Quang Ngai , where services for tourists have beenlimited, locals have invited visitors to stay in their homes for free.
Tuan also pointed out that domestic tours are facingfierce competition from economical tours abroad, especially to someASEAN countries.
According to the VietnamAssociation of Tourism, the number of Vietnamese people travellingabroad rises about 10 percent every year, with most going to China,Japan, the Republic of Korea and western Europe, besides ASEANcountries.
Attractive prices and good servicesprovided by the tours make them extremely competitive, argued Tuan,noting that a tour to Japan currently costs 20 million VND (920 USD),while a five-day trip to the RoK only costs 16 million USD (760 USD).Sometimes, a five-day trip to Thailand can cost under 5 million VND(230 USD), even lower than Vietnam Airlines’ two-way air fare on theHanoi-Ho Chi Minh City route, he said.
Nguyen Quy Phuong, head of VNAT’s Travel Department, said that adomestic tourism promotion programme, which was launched in 2014 whenthe number of foreign visitors first dropped sharply following a highperiod of tensions in the wake of China’s illegal deployment of an oilrig in Vietnam’s waters, has seen active response from travel agencies.
Thousands of new tourism products and tours havebeen introduced to travellers since then, offering diverse choices toexplore the beauty across the country.
Last year,the domestic tourism served over 35 million Vietnamese travellers,exceeding its set target. This year, the sector is expected to welcome37.5 million tourists, said Phuong.-VNA
