HCMC plans campaign to boost sagging tourist arrivals

HCMC plans campaign to boost sagging tourist arrivals

Japanese visitors in colorful kimonos near Ben Thanh Market in Ho Chi Minh City. Japan is one of the major markets for Vietnam’s tourism sector. Ho Chi Minh City plans to make a strong pitch for its attractiveness and competitiveness as a tourism destination with a campaign that will highlight “100 interesting things” about the city.

Deputy Director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DCST) La Quoc Khanh told a major tourism conference held in the southern metro on Friday that the campaign will present a package of the most competitive prices in the region. The conference, the largest of its kind held to date, aimed to identify and implement tourism promotion and development measures in 2009 that would help prop the sector suffering the impacts of the ongoing global recession. Khanh said that last year, HCMC had received about 2.8 million international visitors, a 3.7 percent year-on-year increase but only 93 percent of the year’s plan. Of the total guests, about 1.6 million came to Vietnam for tourism, a 4 percent year-on-year growth; 560,000 for investment and business; and the remaining for visiting family and other purposes. Most of the visitors were from the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia and China. The adverse impacts of the global economic crisis will be further compounded this year by poor quality tourist products and high prices at five star hotels compared to other regional destinations. Tao Van Nghe, director of the Majestic Hotel and chairman of HCMC’s Hotel Association, said the occupancy rate in leading city hotels had dropped by 40-50 percent since April 2008 despite the government reducing the value added tax by 50 percent. Nguyen Huu Tho, general director of Saigon Tourist Holding Company and chairman of HCMC’s Tourism Association said, “A sustainable development strategy for Vietnam’s tourism is needed instead of a scattered policy.” The economic turmoil will be a good test for Vietnam’s tourism sector to weed out non-performing or badly performing firms and ensure fair competition and sustainable growth, said Nguyen Van My, director of Lua Viet Tourist Company. Addressing the conference, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said tourism promotion in the current economic context is quite necessary this year, but cautioned shoddy implementation of promotion campaigns would give the impression that Vietnamese tourism was underselling itself. Khanh said HCMC hopes to welcome about three million international visitors in 2009 and earn tourism revenues of VND34 trillion (US$1.9 billion), a 10 percent year-onyear increase. Vo Anh Tai, director of Saigon Tourist Travel Service told Thanh Nien Daily on the sidelines of the conference that his company is targeting a turnover of about VND1 trillion ($57 million) in 2009. Tai said last year his company had earned revenues of more than VND985 billion ($56 million), a 40 percent year-on-year growth. The company launched Thursday its website www.dulichtietkiem.com for the first time as a marketing channel to introduce its low-price tour packages for 2009. Reported by Vinh Bao