Foreign arrivals continue to fall

Foreign arrivals continue to fall

International arrivals to Viet Nam declined for the 13th consecutive month in June, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

It said the nation welcomed 529,000 international visitors last month, a month-on-month fall of 8.2 per cent and year-on-year fall of 1.9 per cent.

The office estimates a total of 3.8 million visitors in the first six months of the year, a year-on-year decline of 11.3 per cent.

The number of visitors from Europe has fallen by 14.7 per cent and from Asia by 10.6 per cent.

Australia has bucked the trend with a 1.6 per cent increase in the number of visitors.

The GSO said that international arrivals to Viet Nam have been much lower than other countries in the region in the recent years.

A GSO report attributed the decline to several factors, including a failure to attract visitors for business and recreation, something that other countries have managed to do.

Relevant agencies have also not co-operated effectively in tourism management, it said.

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in South Korea and other Asian nations has resulted in a decrease in travel.

Apart from Germany, Italy, Spain and Finland, the number of visitors from key European markets decreased due to economic difficulties. The number of visitors from Russia was down 13 per cent.

A 2013 survey found 69 per cent of visitors said Viet Nam had beautiful scenery, but only 39 per cent said they were satisfied with the quality of service.

Many visitors also said Viet Nam offered less diversity in tourism products like souvenirs, but these were more costly than in other markets.

Solving the problem

To do this, localities in the region have to establish better co-ordination mechanisms, speakers said.

The workshop, held in Can Tho City, was one of eight main activities under the Mekong Delta Green Tours Week that is being organised from June 26 to July 2.

Vuong Duy Bien, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, "I hope that following this workshop, green tours will be given a push along the lines of sustainable development, contributing to environmental protection and climate change adaptation."

However, sustainable development has become a critical problem for the region in the wake of severe environmental pollution, diminishing natural resources and climate change impacts, he said.

"Sustainable tourism development needs strong co-operation between tour companies and concerned agencies, particularly enterprises providing services like hotels and tourism sites" Bien said.

Participants noted that green tour development was a global trend with great growth potential in the Delta, which is criss-crossed with waterways, has high ecological value and cultural facets that are very attractive.

Given its natural advantages, green tours can promote socio-economic development in the region while protecting the environment and promoting climate change adaptation, they said.

They also mentioned challenges facing the development of green tours in the region, including low knowledge and awareness of green tours among its residents and policy shortcomings at the macro level. This has prevented strong linkages between agencies engaged in organising green tours in the region.

Tran Huu Hiep, director of the Department of Economic Affairs under the Southwestern Region Steering Committee, said better co-ordination was also needed between the Central and local governments.

Commenting on a proposal to develop special tourism products for the region, Hiep said three main areas of focus: co-ordination policy, resources generation and human resources development.

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