PM addresses Vietnam’s tourism challenges at national conference
PM addresses Vietnam’s tourism challenges at national conference
Several industry insiders have voiced their discontent with the current state of Vietnam’s tourism industry at a national conference chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc this week.
The conference was held on Tuesday in the central city of Hoi An, a popular tourist destination famous for its history as a trading port and its diverse mix of architecture from various cultures and eras.
Despite the many obstacles facing tourism in this country, Prime Minister Phuc is determined to find a solution for the struggling industry, setting ambitious goals for 2020.
A mountain of challenges
One of the hottest issues at the conference was the presence of Chinese-run travel agencies in Vietnam.
Nguyen Quoc Ky, general director of Vietravel, one of the largest travel firms in Vietnam, lamented the regulation of foreign-run travel agencies.
“In Thailand, a travel agency is required to have at least 51 percent of its share held by a Thai citizen, with foreigners able to hold a maximum of 49 percent,” Ky said.
“In Vietnam, there is no such regulation, allowing Chinese-run travel agencies to manipulate the market.”
Ky added that even though hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists enter the country every year, these arrivals generate no tax revenue for the Vietnamese government’s budget.
The majority of Chinese visitors travel in Vietnam via low-cost packages offered by Chinese tour organizers.
Guided to very few local attractions, they spend most of their time in shopping areas and eateries, mostly run by Chinese, where they are allegedly forced to use services and buy goods, even under threat of being physically assaulted.
Payments are usually made in cash, allowing Chinese business owners to evade taxes, creating huge revenue losses for the Vietnamese government.
Drawn-out, inconvenient immigration procedures are also another obstacle to the development of the tourism industry.
Ky said that a Vietnamese visa must be extended on a yearly basis, which prevents tourists from buying tours more than a year ahead of their estimated date of arrival.
Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, recalled one story of a European couple having planned to travel to Vietnam.
After researching visa procedures in the country, the couple realized that the cost of obtaining a Vietnamese visa is equal to that of a two-day journey to Thailand, a country they do not have to obtain a visa to visit.
Ultimately, the couple decided to forgo their plans for Vietnam and visit Thailand instead.
Other issues discussed at the conference include improving hospitality, opening new casinos, and allowing 24/7 services.
Tran Bac Ha, chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, noted that Vietnam’s revenue from tourism is only 22 percent that of Thailand.
Vietnam has 886 foreign tourists for every 10,000 residents, which is 3.4 and 7.7 times lower compared to Cambodia and Laos, respectively.
“Around seven or eight years ago, Cambodia said that their dream was to have a quarter of Vietnam’s visitors,” Ha recounted.
Conquering the mountain
In his concluding remarks, Prime Minister Phuc acknowledged the challenges that Vietnamese tourism is facing and said that Vietnamese tourism is underperforming.
Remaining optimistic, the prime minister set high goals for Vietnamese tourism in coming years, saying that tourism must contribute at least 10 to 12 percent to Vietnam’s GDP by 2020, with at least US$20 billion worth of in-place exports from tourism.
He also set a target of receiving 15 million international visitors and 75 million domestic tourists, double the current numbers.
According to the prime minister, the Vietnamese government does not plan to open ‘red light districts’ or build too many casinos.
Development has to be planned and focused on a few areas in the country, not sloppy and scattered, finding a balance between serving international and domestic customers, the prime minister underlined.
He also requested several governmental departments and offices to expedite immigration procedures, open direct flights from important international markets to Vietnam, improve hospitality, and strengthen cooperation between geographical areas.
