Foreign tourists visiting Hue. Photo: Dinh Thang
Target 20 - 30%
The total number of tourists to Hue in 2022 is estimated at 2.05 million; of which, there are more than 260 thousand international visitors. In 2023, Thua Thien Hue tourism industry strives to welcome about 3 - 3.5 million visitors; of which, international visitors will welcome about 20 - 30%. That is, in 2023, the tourism industry aims to increase the number of international visitors by about 3 times compared to 2022, with the specific number falling around 700 - 800 thousand visitors.
If we compare the market share of international and domestic tourists in the ancient capital tourism for a period of time, the figure of 20 - 30% is quite modest. At the time before the epidemic, the figure was always approximately 50 - 50 between the two market shares of international and domestic tourists.
Mr. Truong Thanh Minh, Director of the Tourism Promotion Information Center, said that it can be seen that the international tourism situation has changed a lot compared to before, although it was previously predicted that 2023 would be a boom year for world and Vietnamese tourism. The conflict between countries has not ended, the global economy has been affected. Chinese tourists have traveled again but not in large numbers. Therefore, the average travel demand of all international visitors is only reaching 25% compared to before the pandemic.
“Similar to international visitors to Vietnam, the number of domestic visitors booking international tours is still low. Demand is focused on some nearby markets with reasonable tour prices. It can be affirmed that only when the demand for domestic visitors going abroad returns to normal will tourism around the world truly return to normal. Therefore, the number of international visitors from 20-30% of the 3-3.5 million visitors that Hue is targeting in 2023 is appropriate,” Mr. Minh analyzed.
The role of international visitors to a destination in tourism development is very important. International visitors often travel on tours, helping the destination proactively provide services, creating higher and more stable revenue for the destination. The Department of Tourism also emphasized that international visitors to Hue often have higher spending levels than domestic visitors.
After the Lunar New Year, the number of Thai tourists to Hue increased from late January to early February, but there were still stories of missing out on sightseeing spots. The time tourists spent in Hue was short, so the revenue was not high. Or in the first days of the new year, some destinations in the country welcomed some new tourist markets such as India and China, but Hue has not yet. This poses new tasks and solutions to attract international tourists back.
Tourists visit Hue heritage
More effective solutions are needed
Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh emphasized that although there are still many difficulties, it must be affirmed that world tourism is gradually recovering better. In the face of such developments, what Hue tourism needs to do is to focus on implementing solutions, forming products and services to exploit domestic tourists, taking domestic tourists as the foundation; at the same time, strengthening solutions to better attract international markets.
Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Department of Tourism, said that in 2023, the tourism industry will focus on building key branded tourism products based on Hue culture as a foundation. Mobilize businesses to develop a number of new products associated with eco-tourism, health care; smart tourism, agricultural tourism. At the same time, develop spiritual tourism and craft village tourism. Propose provincial leaders to issue policies in tourism management and development, propose a number of orientations, and implement a number of event activities to restore and develop tourism.
According to analysts, Hue needs to clarify two different needs of international visitors. For the European, Australian, and North American markets, there is a basic need to learn deeply about culture and heritage. What is original has attracted visitors. As for the Southeast Asian markets and some countries in East Asia, culture and heritage are also important but require more experiences and more entertaining art performances. Therefore, what needs to be done is to identify key markets to target in order to provide suitable products.
According to the Department of Tourism, in addition to efforts to develop new products, the industry is also stepping up destination promotion. In the coming time, the industry will launch a communication campaign “Hue Ancient Capital – Vietnam’s Leading Heritage Destination” on CNN. This is a major communication channel, from which the image of Hue tourism will reach more markets.
In order for solutions to attract international visitors to be effective, the Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh requested that the tourism industry must always proactively research the market and proactively come up with appropriate solutions. With many changes in the process of welcoming and serving guests as it is now, the industry must also proactively advise on policies so that the province can make timely changes.
Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh gave an example: Terminal T2 of Phu Bai International Airport will be put into operation in a few months. This is a great opportunity for tourism. The problem is that even if the airport is upgraded to 5 million passengers/year, without a source of visitors and no international commercial flights, it will not be effective. Therefore, from now on, the tourism industry needs to proactively advise key tourist markets that tend to choose Hue as a destination so that the province can have a plan to open new flights.
Article and photos: DUC QUANG
Source
Comment (0)