Friday, June 6, 2014

City looks to attract more tourists

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Well-done promotion campaigns and other actions to strengthen tourism could help HCM City develop the sector, experts said.


Foreigners visit the War Remnants Museum in HCM City. The museum welcomes over 105,000 visitors each year, with many additional activities including talks with veteran soldiers and displays at local schools. Tourism experts have recommended more promotions and diversified activities for the city to attract more visitors. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vu

 

Tran Long, general manager of travel operator Du lich Viet, said the city should upload information about the country's public safety situation on social media to assure the international community.

Bui Viet Thuy Tien, director of Asian Trails, said the city's tourism sector should identify "potential" markets and carry out promotions there.

The Government should also consider waiving visa fees for tourists from such markets — like Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, France, Spain, Brazil, and India – she said.

Nguyen Minh Man, deputy director of Vietravel, said relevant city authorities should hold more Viet Nam food festivals abroad to make the country's cuisine a tourism attraction.

Other experts said in the long term the city should focus on upgrading the quality of specific tourism products which connect to existing natural resources and potentiality, increasing their competitiveness.

The city plans to ask the 100 leading hotels to join a tourism stimulus programme.

Attractive destination

In the eyes of international tourists, HCM City has always been a hospitable and safe destination.

Top travel companies in the city report consistent growth in international tourist arrivals.

Vietravel said it served 17,000 international tourists in first five months of the year, a 20 per cent year-on-year rise. Its main markets are Japan, Europe and Southeast Asia.

The number of international tourists using the services of Saigontourist increased by 20 per cent in the first five months as the company welcomed a record 8,500 people arriving on international cruise ships.

Other companies like Du lich Viet, Hoa Sen, and Asian Trails reported increases of 10-15 per cent.

According to the city's Tourism Association, China's illegal deployment of an oil rig in Viet Nam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf since May 2 has somewhat affected tourism, but the sector has continued to do well and exceeded its targets.

There were 1.8 million international visitors to the city in the first five months, a 9.7 per cent increase year-on-year.

The number rose by an estimated 8.3 per cent last month to 310,200.

Most of the visitors were from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and European countries. 

Source: VNS

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Source : news[dot]com[dot]vn

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