Promoting tourism cooperation between Vietnam and Kobe, Japan

(To Quoc) - Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration Nguyen Trung Khanh recently had a meeting and worked with a delegation from Kobe city, Japan on promoting tourism cooperation between the two sides.

Working session scene. Photo: TITC

Japan is a traditional key market of Vietnam.

Welcoming the Kobe City delegation to work with the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh highly appreciated the programs to promote and advertise tourism in Japan in general and Kobe City in particular, especially the initiatives to exploit charter flights connecting Japan with Vietnam.

According to Director Nguyen Trung Khanh, Japan is a traditional key market of Vietnam, with diverse visitors, average stay (about 6.2 days) and quite high spending compared to the general level of Asian visitors; Vietnam is also an important tourist market of Japan, the number of Vietnamese tourists to Japan has grown strongly after the pandemic, with a tendency to shop and spend a lot.

In 2023, the number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam will recover by 62% compared to before the pandemic (reaching 589,522 arrivals); the number of Vietnamese visitors to Japan will increase by 16% (reaching 573,876 arrivals). In 2024, the number of Japanese visitors to Vietnam in the first 10 months of the year will reach 584,908 arrivals, an increase of 25% compared to the same period in 2023.

Regarding bilateral cooperation, the Vietnam - Japan Tourism Cooperation Committee was established in 2005, meeting every two years, alternating between the two countries. The 10th meeting of the Committee is expected to be held in Japan in 2025. Vietnam and Japan signed a Joint Declaration on Tourism Cooperation in 2005; a Memorandum of Understanding on Tourism Cooperation between the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and JTA, JNTO in 2017. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration signed a number of cooperation documents in the field of tourism with localities in Japan (Yamanashi Prefecture 2017, Hokkaido Prefecture 2020, Wakayama and Kanagawa Prefectures 2023). The Institute for Tourism Development Research (under the Vietnam National Tourism Administration) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Japan Institute of Transport and Tourism Research in 2023.

Regarding cooperation and promotion activities, Vietnam Tourism has organized programs to introduce Vietnamese tourism in many major cities of Japan; coordinated to participate in the annual Vietnam Culture - Tourism Festival in Tokyo and Kanagawa every year; welcomed Famtrip delegations from Japan to Vietnam to survey tourism. The JNTO Office regularly organizes tourism promotion activities in Vietnam. JNTO participates in events organized by Vietnam: Seminar on attracting international tourists to Vietnam (2019); High-level Policy Forum at ITE (2022). The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the JNTO Vietnam Office have coordinated to organize a Seminar on solutions to promote the exchange of Vietnamese and Japanese tourists in Hanoi (2018), the Vietnam - Japan Tourism Promotion Cooperation Seminar in Da Nang (2020), and the Seminar on Overcrowding of Tourists at Tourist Centers and Development of Satellite Destinations in Hanoi (2023).

In May 2023, the Japanese Government selected and introduced Vietnam into the list of 24 countries as safe and attractive tourist destinations, encouraging travel companies to exploit and send tourists to Vietnam...

Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh suggested that the Kobe Metropolitan Bureau cooperate with JNTO to promote air connectivity between Kobe and major cities in Vietnam, and actively participate in international fairs organized by Vietnam. Consider and propose to the Japanese Government to create a more open visa policy for Vietnamese tourists. The Director also suggested that the two sides support each other in organizing tourism promotion activities in Vietnam and Kobe. At the same time, Director Nguyen Trung Khanh agreed that the leaders of the two sides will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Kobe City and the Vietnam National Tourism Administration in March 2025 on the occasion of the Kobe delegation's visit to Vietnam.

On this occasion, Director Nguyen Trung Khanh invited the Kobe City Government to attend major international tourism fairs in Vietnam, including: Vietnam International Tourism Fair (VITM) (taking place from April 10-13, 2025), Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair (ITE-HCMC), taking place in September 2025. Director Nguyen Trung Khanh hopes that Kobe City will share its experience in destination management, promotion and development of products that are the city's strengths such as sea tourism, culinary tourism, festival tourism, and shopping tourism.

Desire to open flights connecting Kobe with major cities in Vietnam

At the meeting, Mr. Suwa Hisashi, Deputy Director of the Department of Urban Affairs, Kobe City said: with an area of ​​557 ^km2 , Kobe is a national city of Japan in the Kansai region located on Honshu Island and is one of the major seaports in Japan (along with Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Tokyo). Currently, Kobe is located in the economic - tourism - cultural triangle of the Kansai region: Osaka - Kobe - Kyoto.

Kobe City has many beautiful parks and Western-style architecture. The city has a brilliant natural landscape in all four seasons, with a variety of tourism types. The products that create the city's brand are Kobe beef with extremely strict care, processing, and production processes; famous Japanese hot mineral Onsen bath services; Kobe is also the largest wine producer in the country, with Arima hot springs, Nankinmachi Chinatown - Chinatown, Ikuta Jinja Shrine, Kobe Port Tower, ...

Deputy Director of Kobe Metropolitan Bureau Suwa Hisashi said that there are currently about 8,000 Vietnamese people living, working and studying in Kobe, Japan. According to the estimated data of Kobe Metropolitan Bureau in 2023, Kobe welcomed about 1 million international visitors, including about 23,000 tourists from Vietnam. The number of international visitors staying overnight in Kobe reached 615,000, of which tourists from Vietnam reached 3,500 (accounting for 0.6%). Therefore, it is expected that in 2025, the city will upgrade Kobe airport into an international airport with regular flights from Asian countries, including Vietnam.

As planned, the flight from Vietnam to Kobe will depart from Ho Chi Minh City; the flight from Kobe to Vietnam will land at Da Nang airport. Kobe plans to operate the first three direct flights in March 2025, summer 2025 and late 2025.

Moving forward, Kobe airport will operate fixed international flights from 2030, including flights to Vietnam. On this occasion, Mr. Suwa Hisashi hopes that the Vietnam National Tourism Administration will support Kobe city to open flights connecting with major cities in Vietnam.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/thuc-day-hop-tac-du-lich-giua-viet-nam-va-kobe-nhat-ban-20241120140200528.htm