Vietnam promotes smart tourism ecosystem to attract visitors

Representatives from agencies are at the launching ceremony of the app "Sapa Tour" to promote tourism in resort town of Sa Pa in northern province of Lao Cai. (Photo: nhandan.vn)

Hanoi – Localities in Vietnam have been taking actions to develop smart tourism ecosystem to attract visitors in the digital era.

In Hanoi, tourist attractions like the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre, the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, the National Museum of History, and the Hoa Lo prison historical relic site have organised many online exhibitions, and put in place e-ticket systems.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the 3D technology has been optimised to provide information and promote tourism, notably the smart interactive tourism map with virtual travel assistants at destinations.

Other localities such as Quang Ninh, Da Nang, and Ninh Binh have also stepped up the use of artificial intelligence (AI), 360-degree virtual reality technology (VR 360), and QR payment.

Many major seminars and discussions on smart tourism have been organised to raise the awareness of relevant agencies, departments, and sectors of smart tourism, and seek solutions to boost the segment.

Despite positive changes, experts, however, have expressed their concern over obstacles to smart tourism as most of the Vietnamese travel firms are small- and medium-sized, unable to invest much in technology due to their limited capital.

Online travel companies with international brands are dominating the domestic market. Meanwhile, only about 10 Vietnamese businesses are offering online services. Apart from the fierce competition, domestic firms are facing a host of difficulties like inharmonious information technology infrastructure, and the lack of experience and personnel.

Under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's project "Application of Industry 4.0’s technology to develop smart tourism, spreading tourism to become a key economic sector", Vietnam is striving to complete the smart tourism ecosystem to meet the increasing demand of the market.

The project is set to address shortcomings and create momentum for the country’s tourism to speed up and contribute to national modernisation.

Quang Ninh a pioneer in smart tourism development The northeastern province of Quang Ninh is one of the pioneers nationwide in implementing smart tourism solutions.

Smart tourism models open digital doors Vietnam is taking advantage of technological innovations to promote smart tourism projects for more sustainable development.

RoK helps Hue city develop smart tourism The People’s Committee of Hue city in central Thua Thien-Hue province, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on May 23 jointly kicked off a project to build Hue city of culture and smart tourism.

An Giang launches smart tourism information portal The Mekong Delta province of An Giang on March 23 officially launched its tourism information portal checkinangiang.vn, and the corresponding mobile application checkinangiang.