What to do to attract international visitors back?

The tourism industry is showing positive signs as in the first two months of the year, the country welcomed more than 3 million international visitors, showing the effectiveness of favorable visa policies, tourism stimulus programs and the efforts of localities. However, to achieve the target of welcoming 17-18 million international visitors this year, nearly double that of 2023, requires breakthrough solutions and more systematic strategies.

Promote and advertise

According to the reporter of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, recently, not only localities but also businesses are promoting tourism promotion activities. At the ITB Berlin 2024 International Tourism Fair (Germany) which took place from March 5 to 7, Saigon Tourist Corporation (Saigontourist Group) implemented many programs to promote and advertise Vietnamese tourism to attract European tourists in general and the German tourist market in particular. For many decades, Europe and Germany have always been important international tourist markets for Vietnamese tourism as well as Saigontourist Group.

The 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai Festival is one of the events promoting the city's tourism to domestic and international visitors. Photo: BINH AN

The ITB Berlin International Fair has an impact on the travel experience worldwide, attracting around 180,000 visitors; 10,000 exhibitors from over 180 countries and territories come to connect and negotiate with each other.

Mr. Pham Huy Binh, Chairman of Saigontourist Group, said that by participating in ITB Berlin 2024, the corporation has had a series of activities to promote and market the image of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, introducing the group's attractive tourism products and services to target customers. "Saigontourist Group also focuses on expanding the market, exploiting new cooperation opportunities through meetings, working sessions, exchanges, and signing agreements with international tourism partners at the fair," said Mr. Binh.

On the local side, Mr. Le Truong Hien Hoa, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, said that this year, Ho Chi Minh City will have 8 domestic tourism promotion programs and 6 foreign tourism promotion programs.

The city's tourism industry is entering a period of acceleration. In addition to efforts to improve the quality of annual domestic events, the Department of Tourism has identified that foreign promotion activities need to be invested in more deeply and professionally. Foreign promotion programs will be a bridge to support tourism businesses to connect with prestigious international partners.

In the list of tourist markets that are being promoted, Ho Chi Minh City will focus on markets such as the UK, Germany, the US, Singapore, Australia... with the expectation of welcoming 6 million international visitors and 38 million domestic visitors for the whole year.

Must bring customers and keep them there

In addition to advertising and promoting tourism to attract visitors, tourism experts emphasize the solution of upgrading products and services to keep tourists staying and spending more money in the context of Vietnamese tourism having to compete strongly with destinations in the region such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.

Thailand, for example, recently announced at the ITE Berlin 2024 International Travel Fair that its tourism industry aims to attract 40 million foreign tourists this year and is expected to earn more than 65 billion USD.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's tourism industry, although only aiming to welcome about 17-18 million international visitors this year, is considered a challenge compared to the target of about 8.5 million visitors in 2023.

Speaking to a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Phan Xuan Anh, Chairman of the Board of Members of Du Ngoan Viet Company, stated that in order to attract more international tourists to Vietnam, in addition to beautiful beaches and beautiful landscapes, it is necessary to invest in building new tours and routes. In particular, indigenous culture must be the main factor along with modernity and suitability to the trend.

According to Mr. Phan Xuan Anh, European and American tourists often come to Vietnam to learn about traditions, history, customs, local cultural identity; learn about traditional craft villages in all regions of the country from making mats, weaving fishing nets...

"Therefore, to diversify tourism products to attract European and American tourists, it is necessary to rely on indigenous culture, local customs, traditional craft villages, folk arts... In addition, it is also necessary to diversify tourist markets from Asia to create a "three-legged stool" for the tourism industry, ensuring international visitors all year round" - Mr. Phan Xuan Anh said.

Regarding visa policy, although Vietnam has now re-applied a flexible visa policy as before COVID-19, businesses continue to recommend expanding to some key markets with high-spending customers and long-term tourists...

Mr. Nguyen Khoa Luan, Director of Anh Viet Hop on - Hop off Vietnam Company, proposed that there should be a visa exemption policy and allow visitors to enter and exit multiple times so that tourists feel comfortable when coming and returning. Because many international visitors come to Vietnam for tourism and then continue to Cambodia, Thailand... then return to Vietnam.

Proposal to reduce immigration time at Tan Son Nhat

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism has just reported the results of implementing the conclusion of Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Bui Xuan Cuong at a working session on activities related to Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

Accordingly, the Department of Tourism said it received feedback from international organizations, large tourism businesses, and international investors about difficulties and long waiting times when traveling to and from Tan Son Nhat airport, especially at the immigration area, even though they used business class services.

The units recommended that the efficiency of immigration counters at the airport should be improved, that there should be a separate immigration lane for business travelers, and that a fee for priority immigration services should be considered for travelers to choose.

The units also proposed applying 4.0 technology in the process of entry and exit, visa issuance at border gates and boarding procedures to reduce waiting time for tourists.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/lam-gi-de-keo-khach-quoc-te-tro-lai-196240311205848549.htm