Trang An tourism complex in the northern province of Ninh Binh (Photo: VNA)Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam made theassessment at a working session with members of the State Steering Committeefor Tourism in Hanoi on December 22.
So far this year, Vietnam has welcomed over 10million international tourists and 62 million domestic ones and fetched nearly400 trillion VND (18 billion USD) in revenue.
The number of travel companies and touristaccommodations reached 1,602 and 21,000, respectively.
Inter-sectoral inspection teams have been set upto promptly address any violations in the field.
Localities have devised policies to boosttourism and attract investment, especially from strategic businesses withstrong financial capacity, to build large-scale tourist accommodations andinternational-standard amusement parks.
New tourism products have been launched in urbanareas such as the walking streets in Hanoi, bus and waterway tours in Ho ChiMinh City, and helicopter tours the central coastal city of Da Nang.
The Ministry of Public Security has built apilot project to grant e-visa to foreign vacationers as well as reduce time forimmigration procedures and ensure safety in key tourism areas.
The Ministry of Transport has activelycoordinated with the aviation industry to improve passenger transport capacity.
Popular destinations such as Trang An tourismcomplex (a world cultural and natural heritage site) in the northern provinceof Ninh Binh, Sam Son beach in the north central province of Thanh Hoa, and PhuQuoc pearl island in the southern province of Kien Giang, have attracted biginvestors in tourism.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said a notableoutcome of the tourism sector in 2016 is putting into operation a number ofmajor projects which was invested in the previous years, and establishing alarge network of tourism destinations.
He asked the tourism sector to continuously tightenmanagement of tourism facilities, especially those setting high prices, tacklebeggars, and ensure food safety and hygiene.
Since tourism has been defined as a spearheadeconomy, it is necessary to define specific development criteria and addressshortcomings in the field, he said.
He suggested the Ministry of Education andTraining work with tourism training institutions and hi-end hotels to buildtraining courses.
In 2017, Vietnam aims to lure 11.5 millioninternational tourists and serve 66 million domestic visitors, earning 460trillion VND (20.24 billion USD) in revenue./.
VNA
