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Foreign tourists are seen in Hoi An Ancient Town. There were roughly 3.3 million Chinese visitors to Vietnam from January to August 2019 – PHOTO: VNA

 

The country recorded a positive growth from the Chinese market only during August, with the number of Chinese visitors rising 12.4% against the year-ago figure, according to data from the General Statistics Office (GSO).

However, the overall growth figure over the eight-month period remains negative. There were roughly 3.3 million Chinese visitors to Vietnam from January to August this year.

Meanwhile, China last year was the country’s largest tourism market from January-August in 2018, with a 28% increase versus the 2017 figure.

Chinese tourists accounted for some 30% of the country’s total international tourist arrivals. Accordingly, local tourism growth will be affected if the volume of Chinese tourists drops.

Earlier, speaking at a conference held in Danang City in mid-August, a representative from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said that localities in the country would have to take steps to increase the number of Chinese tourists by 5%, so that Vietnam can reach its target to welcome 17.5-18 million international tourist arrivals in 2019.

Data from GSO also revealed that growth in the number of international visitors to Vietnam has decelerated. The country welcomed over 11 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of the year, up 8.7% against that seen in 2018. Meanwhile, it recorded a 22.8%-year-on-year increase in the same period last year.

In particular, Vietnam also witnessed a downward trend in the number of international tourists from other source tourism markets, exclusive of the Thai market, which showed a very large increase of 46%.

Danang hotels, travel firms present solutions to woo more int’l tourists

To address the limitations of Danang’s tourism industry, from inadequate group accommodation options and tourism products to a shortage of international flights, industry experts, officials, hotel representatives and tour operators have started an open dialogue on solutions to attract more international and domestic tourists.

The Danang tourism sector is facing great pressure from the rising number of lodging facilities that have failed to reach full occupancy as tourist arrivals remain low.

Speaking at a workshop for hotel and tour operators on August 29 on the sidelines of the Danang Hotel Solutions Exhibition, Doan Hai Dang, director of Vietravel Danang, noted that domestic tourists account for the lion’s share of the total tourist arrivals in Danang City.

Besides this, domestic holidaymakers play a key role as a supporting tourist source for the city when the number of international tourists plunges, so the city should work to maintain the number of domestic visitors.

Dang also suggested that accommodation facilities should enhance the quality of their services and manpower to better serve both domestic and foreign visitors.

Cao Tri Dung, chairman of Vietnam TravelMart and chairman of Danang Travel Association, observed that many tourists use online travel agency (OTA) services, which allow consumers to book accommodations, flights and tour packages online.

As such, travel firms should closely collaborate with hotels to compete with OTAs, rolling out signature tourism products at reasonable prices to attract travelers, he remarked.

Chairman Dung also pinpointed some key source markets that travel firms and hotels need to serve, including Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Australia, the United States, India and the Middle East.

Addressing the event held at the Danang Ariyana Convention Center, Tran Tra, chairman of the city’s tour guide association, pointed out that tourists from Asia, including India and the Middle East, are more selective than European and American visitors. They often require special services and products, such as halal food.

Therefore, lodging facilities should focus on offering services and products tailored to the demand from these tourists, especially meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourists from India, whose arrival numbers are on the rise.

Apart from this, Danang City serves multiple international air routes, but there is only one flight operating on each of them, discouraging large groups of MICE tourists, noted Nguyen Duc Quynh, vice chairman of the Danang Hotel Association and deputy general director of Furama Resort Danang.

Another problem facing the city’s tourism sector is that three- and four-star hotels, which make up a large proportion of Danang City’s hotels, have few rooms, resulting in large groups being divided across different hotels, Quynh added.

Huynh Duc Trung, head of the Travel Management Office of the Danang Tourism Department, remarked that the city’s tourism sector will focus on certain segments, such as domestic visitors and MICE foreign tourists.

The city will soon set up a fund of up to VND10 billion for Danang tourism promotion.

The exhibition featured 60 booths of hotels and tourism product and service suppliers, attracting 2,000 participants. SGT

Dao Loan/Nhan Tam

 

Average spending of Chinese tourists not high in Vietnam

Average spending of Chinese tourists not high in Vietnam

China remains the largest source market for Vietnam's tourism, but the average spending of each Chinese tourist is only at the 8th place among Vietnam’s top ten source markets to reach over VND19 million.