Four proposals to promote tourism by CEO Le Hong Thuy Tien

Ms. Le Hong Thuy Tien - CEO of IPPG - proposed a factory outlet model, a duty-free store in the city center, at the conference on the morning of November 15.

The conference "Developing Vietnam's tourism quickly and sustainably" chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi was attended by many leaders of ministries, sectors, localities (online) and representatives of large enterprises in the industry.

In the first 10 months of the year, the number of international visitors to Vietnam reached 10 million - the highest in the past 4 years. Businesswoman Thuy Tien commented that the tourism industry is recovering, this achievement comes from the flexible and drastic direction of the Government and departments.

"However, tourism businesses still face many difficulties. Compared to other countries in the region, the above figure is still modest. Specifically, Thailand has welcomed about 20 million international visitors, with revenue in the first 10 months of the year reaching 22.58 billion USD," said the female CEO.

Before the conference, Ms. Thuy Tien proposed four solutions to help promote domestic tourism. First, she hopes to promote factory outlets (discount centers) in duty-free zones. In the world, this model is quite successful, affirming its attraction to both international and domestic tourists.

The female CEO explained that if Vietnam's outlet is located in a duty-free zone, it will be superior to other countries because procedures and import taxes will be reduced, and foreign customers will not have to go for VAT refunds.

"In the context of many countries in the region racing to promote and offer incentives to stimulate tourism, we propose that the Government consider issuing breakthrough policies to differentiate ourselves and accelerate, typically the purchasing policy for international and domestic visitors in duty-free zones," she said, adding that this point contributes to reducing "foreign currency bleeding" when Vietnamese consumers reduce their need to go abroad to shop.

She also cited that each domestic Chinese tourist is allowed to buy $15,000 duty-free per year. Thanks to that, in 2022, Hainan Island tourism will grow by 80%, investment will double, and GDP will increase by 4.2 times.

Businesswoman Thuy Tien presented four proposals at the conference "Developing Vietnam's tourism quickly and sustainably" on November 15. Photo: NVCC

With 30 years of experience cooperating with 138 global luxury brands, Ms. Thuy Tien affirmed that IPPG is confident that it can open outlets to serve shopping tourism, if there is a reasonable purchasing policy mechanism.

"Typically in Phu Quoc, although the duty-free zone has been planned for 13 years, IPPG was chosen as the investor, but because the operating mechanism has not been issued, we cannot promote investment," she said.

Second, the IPPG CEO proposed to deploy a duty-free store in the city center. The characteristic of this model is that the goods sold at full price are managed by a series of famous brands. They have the right to select and distribute a limited amount of products in each country.

Duty-free shops can increase commercial value, impact, and synergy with other services such as hotels, restaurants, commerce, and transportation. They also promote local products globally, increasing tourism revenue. In Seoul, South Korea, this industry brings in $16 billion in revenue a year.

Vietnamese travel companies enjoy 10% commission on duty-free sales, which partly solves the problem of reducing tour prices, airline tickets, hotels, etc. for travel agencies, thereby being able to compete on tour prices in the region.

Third, Ms. Thuy Tien expects the Government to conduct in-depth planning research and develop modern and systematic retail trade at seaports, waterways, borders and airports to serve tourists.

Finally, the Shopping Tourism Association Council will be established, including representatives of relevant ministries, sectors and businesses. "The council will propose general policies on developing shopping tourism, analyze market demand, and connect advertising media to attract more tourists," Ms. Thuy Tien added.

Hieu Chau

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