Is the structure of the tourist market to Thanh Hoa really diverse?

FLC Sam Son Eco- tourism Resort Complex - a popular destination for tourists.

In 2024, the whole province welcomed over 15.3 million visitors, an increase of 22.9% over the previous year. Notably, in addition to the traditional tourist market from the Northern provinces, Thanh Hoa recorded significant growth from some provinces in the Central and Southeast regions. Along with that, in 2024, the number of international visitors from countries such as Korea, China, Japan... and some European countries also had a slight growth, with 720 thousand visitors. It is noted that in some localities with key tourist areas and spots in the province such as Sam Son City, Thanh Hoa City, Nghi Son Town, Ba Thuoc District..., the tourist market is gradually diversifying, increasing the length of stay and participating in experiential activities.

Ms. Do Thi Thuy, Sales & Marketing Department of FLC Sam Son Eco-tourism Resort Complex (Sam Son City) said: “In the past two years, the number of visitors from the Central and Southern provinces has started to increase slightly, about 5 - 10%. Although the increase is not large, this is a market of visitors with an average stay of 2 - 3 days and using a variety of services. In just the 3 days of the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day holiday (April 5 - 7), there were more than 1,000 visitors coming to stay here, of which visitors from the Northern provinces accounted for about 70%. This is a positive signal in preparation for the upcoming summer tourist season.”

Along with the coastal tourist areas, records at some cultural, historical, spiritual, community ecological, and farm tourist areas show that the tourist market to Thanh Hoa has been gradually diversifying. In particular, green tourist destinations, resorts associated with entertainment and recreation are creating new attractions for the province's tourism.

According to Mr. Do Duc Manh, Head of Pu Luong Tourism Association, since tourism reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2022), the tourist market to Pu Luong has become increasingly diverse. Especially the tourist market in the Central region, the Central Highlands and Ho Chi Minh City has increased by about 10% compared to previous years. However, there are certain limitations that prevent Pu Luong from expanding the tourist market. First of all, due to the characteristics of community tourism, with limited accommodation and space. Along with that are a number of issues related to traffic connections; tourism development associated with nature conservation, biodiversity... Therefore, the immediate goal of Pu Luong tourism is still to focus on exploiting and expanding the international tourist market associated with green tourism development.

According to the assessment of the Provincial Tourism Development Steering Committee, most of Thanh Hoa's tourism products have only reached the average tourism market, not the high-end market; the number of visitors staying is still low, the length of stay is short (from 1 to 2 nights). The structure of Thanh Hoa's tourist market still lacks diversity, depending mainly on the tourist market of Hanoi and the northern provinces. Although international visitors to Thanh Hoa have achieved the set target, the proportion is still low. At the same time, it is clear that some localities have not really paid attention to investing and linking with tourism businesses to develop new tourism products, leading to the development of new tourism products being monotonous, low quality, so they have not attracted high-paying visitors and extended stay. Services such as accommodation, trade, transportation, etc. have not yet created a connected and shared economic ecosystem; there is a lack of linkage in developing tourism products of localities in the province with each other. In particular, the slow connection, slow restoration of flight routes and flight frequency at Tho Xuan Airport have affected the structure of the tourist market to Thanh Hoa.

In the coming time, the province will focus on developing a variety of comprehensive entertainment and high-end beach resort tourism products; cultural and spiritual tourism; community eco-tourism; agricultural and rural tourism; conference and seminar tourism (MICE)... on the basis of sustainable development towards green growth. Along with that, priority is given to building and exploiting entertainment services, adventure sports games, and night tourism services. However, investment in upgrading technical facilities and service supply chains also needs to be paid more attention by tourism businesses, aiming to meet the needs, extend the length of stay and increase the spending capacity of tourists.

Article and photos: Hoai Anh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/co-cau-thi-truong-khach-du-lich-den-thanh-hoa-da-thuc-su-da-dang-245248.htm