A woman uses the Traveloka app to book a hotel online. (Photo: VNA) Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourismunder the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, made the statement at adigital transformation roundtable discussion held in Hanoi on November 16.
Vietnam's tourism development strategy to 2030, approved by the Prime Ministeron January 22, 2020, set an orientation to accelerate the digitaltransformation process in the tourism industry, toward the formation anddevelopment of a smart tourism ecosystem.
“The fact that we jointly build, cooperate and develop technology applications,to support tourists in the digital environment is also concretising the purposeof the above strategy. Therefore, the content of today's talk has practicalsignificance, in line with current trends,” Sieu said.
He added that the spread of the Fourth Industrial Revolution along with thedevelopment of technology has changed tourist behaviour, from searching forinformation, booking services and experiences at the destination, to sharingfeelings and memories of the trip. Most of it took place in the digitalenvironment.
The change in the market with the focus on tourists has forced serviceproviders as well as the Government to have solutions to quickly adapt and takeadvantage of digital achievements to transform the operating model and methodin the new era. Digital transformation as well as enhancing cooperation in thedigital environment is the right choice for organisations, businesses, and digitalservice providers to strive to maintain operations in order to adapt flexiblyand develop sustainably.
Huynh Thi Mai Thy, Country Manager Traveloka Vietnam, said in the first half ofthis year, Vietnam welcomed around 413,000 foreigners and 60.8 million domesticvisitors. The total tourism revenue reached 265 trillion VND. In addition, thevolume of international searches for Vietnamese tourism has continued to surge,with one of the highest increases in the world, according to Google’s markettrend tracker tool.
Vietnam has also stepped up eight places in the 2021 Tourism and TravelDevelopment Index (TTDI), according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Reportwhich was conducted based on enabling environment, travel and tourism policyand enabling conditions, infrastructure, travel and tourism demand drivers,travel and tourism sustainability. The country experienced the greatest scoreimprovement, rising by 4.7% to leap from 60th to 52nd in the overall index.
“However, in order to return to the golden age of the tourism industry, in2019, there are still some challenges although Vietnam has orientation,strategic plans and a roadmap for tourism development which was provided in thestrategy to develop Vietnam's tourism to 2030 approved by the Prime Minister onJanuary 22, 2020,” she added.
She said digital transformation, tourism model 4.0, smart tourism model are nolonger unfamiliar terms to Vietnamese people, as well as the benefits ofdigital transformation for the industry, businesses and travellers. However,the connection and cooperation between these entities in the digitalenvironment for sustainable development of Vietnam's tourism should bepromoted.
She added that with the strong rebound of tourism in recent months, it iscrucial for Vietnam's tourism to take steps toward digital transformation byembracing touchless and smart tourism in Vietnam.
“Therefore, we keep making innovations that can create other initiatives andbreakthrough programmes that will boost the digitalisation in the travelindustry.”
As a technology-based company, Traveloka is cementing its commitment to supportthe Government and partners toward digital transformation and sustainablegrowth in the tourism sector.
Traveloka encourages the stakeholders to work together and ensure thesustainable growth of local tourism. Digital transformation is more than just atemporary solution for the pandemic disruption, but is also a long-term journeyfor the whole tourism sector to develop sustainably./.
VNA
