Singaporean expert gives advice for Vietnamese tourism

Singapore Tourism Management Institute Honorary President Wong Soon-hwa assessed Vietnam's tourism position as "the best in Southeast Asia" but needed to improve destination management.

"Vietnam is best positioned in Southeast Asia for tourism development," said Wong Soon-hwa, honorary president of the Singapore Tourism Management Institute and former president of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), at the "Public-private partnership in tourism destination management and development" conference on October 31 in Hanoi .

According to Mr. Wong, Vietnam has a large land area of ​​over 331,000 km2 and a large population of nearly 100 million people, creating an abundant human resource to supply the service and tourism industry. Vietnam is a safe destination thanks to its stable political situation, which foreign investors always prioritize when investing.

Vietnam won two awards, "Asia's Leading Destination" and "Asia's Leading Nature Destination" in 2023 at the WTA Awards held in September in Ho Chi Minh City. The above photo was taken in the capital Hanoi in early autumn. Photo: Vu Ngoc Thien

Vietnam also possesses many natural resources, rich heritage, and cuisine that is loved by tourists. After the pandemic, Vietnam's tourism industry was assessed by international experts to develop faster than Thailand and Japan. Vietnam has been continuously honored in prestigious international awards such as World Travel Awards, World Culinas Awards. The government is also very interested in and creates favorable conditions for the tourism industry to develop, such as easing visa policies and granting e-visas to citizens of all countries and territories in the world.

However, Vietnam is still not the leading tourist destination in the region, behind countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. In the first 10 months of the year, Vietnam welcomed 10 million international visitors while Thailand welcomed more than 21.5 million visitors.

Therefore, in order for Vietnam's tourism industry to develop further, according to Mr. Wong, it is necessary to manage destinations well.

Mr. Albert, co-founder of travel platform Traveloka, which has offices in six Southeast Asian countries, defines “destinations” not just as names on a map but also as experiences that tourists and locals create together. “For a country blessed with natural resources like Vietnam, destination management is extremely important,” said Albert.

Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago (photo) recognized as World Natural Heritage. Photo: Tran Dat

According to Mr. Wong, the guiding principle in managing a destination is sustainability, balancing the quality and quantity of tourists; developing tourism not only in the present but also for the future.

To do this, destinations need to have coordination between the public and private sectors or government - local people - tourists - businesses. Wong said that no matter how the coordination is, in every destination in the world, the government always plays a leading role. The government needs to provide infrastructure, human resources as well as a quick approval process so that investors can get started right away. In addition, the government needs to widely publicize investment plans as well as completion times and must complete them on time. Wong said this is also important because investors need to know what the government is doing so they can invest and develop tourism.

Wong said that Singapore's Sentosa Island is much smaller than Phu Quoc but welcomes more than 20 million visitors each year. Of those 20 million, a significant portion comes from domestic visitors. Vietnam can also refer to Sentosa's development model to apply to domestic destinations.

"We manage destinations that not only serve international visitors but also domestic visitors. Disneyland or Paris cannot exist with only international visitors," Wong said. Therefore, when developing destinations, Vietnam needs to think about the needs of local visitors in addition to foreign visitors.

Another important factor that helps Vietnam manage its destinations better and attract international investors is “doing it right”. According to Wong, every country has its own laws or regulations. What makes one destination stand out from another on the world map is how that country enforces the law. “Enforcing the law is a key factor in determining success,” Wong said.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Hong Long, Head of the Department of Tourism, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, many old destinations are competing with new destinations. Therefore, destinations that want to develop need to be highly adaptable. Local authorities need to take measures to enhance local people's pride in the destination, and build unique products that are not "duplicated" with other places to attract visitors.

Mr. Dinh Ngoc Duc, Head of the International Relations Department of the National Tourism Administration, commented that if a destination wants to be successful, the local government needs to "put the tourist experience first". The experience here is to provide tourists with professional services, competitive prices, and what they pay for, a clean and beautiful environment, friendly and civilized people, a safe destination, and sustainable development. In addition, tour products must be unique, with convenient procedures such as simple entry and convenient transportation to tourist attractions.

Tourism experts believe that when Vietnam does the above, the tourism industry will develop rapidly.

Phuong Anh

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/chuyen-gia-singapore-hien-ke-cho-du-lich-viet-4671267.html