Points of interest to advance fortunes in Vietnamese tourism

Nguyen Ha Trang, group marketing director Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh and Emeralda Resort Tam Coc

We did our best to launch Emeralda Resort Tam Coc in April 2023 in this disadvantaged situation. The most important government policy is the visa extension programme for foreign visitors with simple and convenient online procedures. We have worked closely with our partners on promotional campaigns for specialised markets to deploy packages suitable for each market segment. For the domestic market, we have implemented a niche market sales strategy with tailor-made products for each customer. The result is that we have retained key inbound markets and expanded into some new markets.

With the tourism industry still in a slow recovery, we have been forced to expand the domestic market to replace the shortage of the inbound market. In summary, our 2023 occupancy almost recovered 85 per cent compared to 2019.

This year will continue to be a difficult year for the tourism industry as economic forecasts are not brighter than 2023. However, there are a few points to hope for as Vietnam is still a popular destination to inbound markets with the advantage of changes in visa policies and entry procedures from the government.

For the domestic market, the competition will be even more fierce than in 2023, so multi-faceted marketing strategies to approach target audiences will become even more important to capture the market.

In general, this year will still be a difficult one for the world economy, so how to attract inbound visitors to Vietnam will not be as important as how to extend the length of stay and increase people’s spending.

In my opinion, the government can focus on three important points.

The first is to coordinate domestic and international transportation costs at a reasonable level to encourage tourists to travel more while in Vietnam.

The second is to promote attractive destinations in Vietnam based on cultural, culinary, or natural themes so that tourists have a variety of choices.

Finally, another important aspect is to ensure intensive training to have human resources with enough skills to serve international tourists in a more effective manner.

Tourism sector moves to optimise new visa policy The new visa policy, coming into force on August 15, is believed to open up various opportunities for tourism development, and stakeholders in this industry are taking actions to seize those chances.

Culinary delights add to allure of Vietnamese tourism With its rich and diverse culinary heritage and the refinement in cooking and enjoyment cultivated over thousands of years, Vietnam holds huge potential to develop culinary tourism, turning its gastronomy into a captivating advantage to attract visitors.