Ninh Binh promotes tourism on TikTok platform

Trang An tourism site in Ninh Binh province (Photo: trangandanhthang.vn)

#HelloVietnam is part of the global tourism promotion campaign #TikTokTravel launched by TikTok to honour stunning tourism sites worldwide as well as nudge different cultures closer to each other.

The first video in the series, featuring the central city of Da Nang, was launched in June 2019 under the hashtag #HelloDanang.

Ninh Binh is the next destination of the campaign and videos promoting the province’s images, culture, cuisine, natural landscapes and people will be posted under the hashtag #HelloNinhBinh.

Under the sponsorship of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the Tourism Magazine will partner with TikTok Vietnam to develop content to popularise tourism via the TikTok platform.

Accordingly, the magazine is in charge of operating the VietnamTourism account on TikTok while TikTok will organise training courses for the Tourism Magazine and partners on how to create videos or films and use TikTok’s platform effectively.

They will work together on the #HelloVietnam programme during 2019-2020 to promote Vietnam’s tourism. The marketing programme has a very ambitious goal of producing and screening 30,000 short videos on Vietnam’s stunning landscapes on the TikTok platform with a target of 100 million views.

TikTok, which has over 12 million users in Vietnam, pledges to cooperate with competent authorities and businesses to honour Vietnamese culture and tourism.

Ninh Binh province has also employed an array of synchronous measures in an effort to improve the quality of tourism services, especially at the Tam Coc – Bich Dong tourism site in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district.

Since June 2018, the province has officially launched a smart tourism portal at visitninhbinh.vn and smart travel application on mobile devices. To date, the system has been integrated with several functions.

Ninh Binh is the second province to introduce the smart travel system. Thanks to the system’s success, many other provinces and cities have started to deploy the initiative in order to boost tourism.

The smart tourism system has attracted participation of hundreds of local units, travel agencies, hotels, and restaurants. On average, there are over 200 visits of tourists to the system to search for tourism information.

In the coming time, the province will promote more utilities for the smart travel system such as artificial intelligence, arrival destination recognition and virtual digital to lure more tourists to the province.

Ninh Binh province welcomed over 7.3 million visitors in 2018, grossing 3.2 trillion VND (138 million USD) from tourism services, a year-on-year increase of 19.2 percent.

It successfully organised a series of events to attract visitors, such as Hoa Lu festival, Trang An festival, and Ninh Binh Tourism Week.

This year, the province expects to serve a total of 7.5 million visitors, including 940,000 foreign tourists.

Furthermore, Ninh Binh will host the main events of the National Tourism Year 2020, according to the VNAT.

The province has been asked to build its own logo and identity for the National Tourism Year 2020 in association with the Ninh Binh tourism brand.

In particular, promotion for the Year should be focused on promoting the theme of the National Tourism Year 2020, as well as introducing the beauty of Ninh Binh at domestic and national tourism fairs and international travel promotion programmes, while also promoting Vietnam and Ninh Binh tourism in Jecheon city (Chungcheongbuk-do province, the Republic of Korea) - the city which has established a twin relationship with Ninh Binh.

Notable tourist attractions in Ninh Binh include Trang An Landscape Complex, Bai Dinh pagoda, Tam Coc-Bich Dong, Thung Nham bird garden, Van Long lagoon, and Phat Diem stone cathedral.

The Trang An Complex was recognised by UNESCO as a Cultural and Natural World Heritage Site in 2014. With its majestic beauty, the complex is a highlight in Vietnam tourism map and it welcomed 5 million tourist arrivals in the first five months of this year.