Vietnamese tourism ranks lowest in region
Vietnam has a competitive edge in terms of tour fees, but it poorly regarded in every other category, according to a recent survey of Vietnam's inbound tourism conducted by the Vietnam National Tourism Administration (VNAT).
Reasons for inferiority
The survey was conducted by a group of VNAT officials, experts and representatives from international travel firms, headed by PhD Nguyen Anh Tuan, Senior Official of the Travel Department under VNAT.
The surveyors found that the biggest advantage of Vietnamese travel firms is their competitive tour prices. For example, Diethelm's short-term tour fees for two persons are between $184 and $189; prices would be $363-448 in Thailand and $302-365 in Malaysia.
As such, Vietnam's tour fees are just equal to a half of that offered by Thailand or Malaysia. They are even lower than Laos and Cambodia, which rank among the top five countries with an underdeveloped tourism industry.
The surveyors also provided diagrams which showed that Vietnam's service product prices are very competitive, especially those of medium and high quality.
However, Mr. Tuan said that Vietnam is far inferior to Malaysia and Thailand in terms of other competitive factors, including marketing, infrastructure, sale culture and human resources.
Regarding competitiveness, Vietnam can only contend with others in medium and high-quality tours, while it is inferior in terms of low-cost tours. Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have launched tour zero programs (free) in order to attract the travelers from Vietnam, Thailand and China, but Vietnam has not and cannot follow suit.
Under the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report which was released in April 2007, Vietnam's travel competitiveness index was very low, only higher than Cambodia. This was largely attributed to a lacking legal framework and shortcomings of the country's business environment and infrastructure.
Vietnam is ranked 76th of 124 countries regarding natural resources and culture, higher than China, the Philippines and Cambodia. However, it is clear that Vietnam still cannot take full advantage of its positive situation.
Vietnam ranks 121st of 124 countries in terms of infrastructure, which means that Vietnam, together with Cambodia and three other countries, are among the lowest five nations.
Poor aviation infrastructure is Vietnam's biggest problem. The country seriously lacks airports and aircraft, which is why it is one of the two worst countries in terms of aviation infrastructure. Travel firms complain that they regularly are unable to arrange enough air tickets for foreign travelers.
Moreover, the shortage of high quality hotel rooms, poor transportation system and not enough ATMs at tourism hubs have also been cited by Mr. Tuan and associates as significant tourism weaknesses.
Room to grow
The survey has pointed out that Vietnam's biggest rivals are Asian countries, including China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Though Vietnam has been witnessing an increasing numbers of foreign travelers over the last few years, the number is much lower than tourists traveling to other regional countries.
In 2007, Vietnam welcomed 4 million tourists and enjoyed a growth rate of 18%. However, the former figure is 1/3 of that of Thailand (12mil) and Singapore (10mil), ?? of Malaysia (17.5mil) in 2006.
Mr. Tuan believes that Vietnam's tourism industry has a chance to make a breakthrough in the near future. It can take off and develop rapidly in the next 10 or 15 years, while Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have already experienced the maturity period and their tourism services have become ˜saturated.
Mr. Tuan and his surveyors have suggested three solutions to the Government, associations and tourism firms.
Regarding immediate needs, Mr. Tuan says the Government should lower the VAT to less than 10%, exempt tax on imported luxury 24-seat buses and encourage the construction of shopping centers and duty-free shops. Vietnam should also think of setting up a national tourism promotion fund and establish representative offices in its main markets, including Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, Sweden and the US.
The survey was conducted by a group of VNAT officials, experts and representatives from international travel firms, headed by PhD Nguyen Anh Tuan, Senior Official of the Travel Department under VNAT.
The surveyors found that the biggest advantage of Vietnamese travel firms is their competitive tour prices. For example, Diethelm's short-term tour fees for two persons are between $184 and $189; prices would be $363-448 in Thailand and $302-365 in Malaysia.
As such, Vietnam's tour fees are just equal to a half of that offered by Thailand or Malaysia. They are even lower than Laos and Cambodia, which rank among the top five countries with an underdeveloped tourism industry.
The surveyors also provided diagrams which showed that Vietnam's service product prices are very competitive, especially those of medium and high quality.
However, Mr. Tuan said that Vietnam is far inferior to Malaysia and Thailand in terms of other competitive factors, including marketing, infrastructure, sale culture and human resources.
Regarding competitiveness, Vietnam can only contend with others in medium and high-quality tours, while it is inferior in terms of low-cost tours. Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have launched tour zero programs (free) in order to attract the travelers from Vietnam, Thailand and China, but Vietnam has not and cannot follow suit.
Under the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report which was released in April 2007, Vietnam's travel competitiveness index was very low, only higher than Cambodia. This was largely attributed to a lacking legal framework and shortcomings of the country's business environment and infrastructure.
Vietnam is ranked 76th of 124 countries regarding natural resources and culture, higher than China, the Philippines and Cambodia. However, it is clear that Vietnam still cannot take full advantage of its positive situation.
Vietnam ranks 121st of 124 countries in terms of infrastructure, which means that Vietnam, together with Cambodia and three other countries, are among the lowest five nations.
Poor aviation infrastructure is Vietnam's biggest problem. The country seriously lacks airports and aircraft, which is why it is one of the two worst countries in terms of aviation infrastructure. Travel firms complain that they regularly are unable to arrange enough air tickets for foreign travelers.
Moreover, the shortage of high quality hotel rooms, poor transportation system and not enough ATMs at tourism hubs have also been cited by Mr. Tuan and associates as significant tourism weaknesses.
Room to grow
The survey has pointed out that Vietnam's biggest rivals are Asian countries, including China, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Though Vietnam has been witnessing an increasing numbers of foreign travelers over the last few years, the number is much lower than tourists traveling to other regional countries.
In 2007, Vietnam welcomed 4 million tourists and enjoyed a growth rate of 18%. However, the former figure is 1/3 of that of Thailand (12mil) and Singapore (10mil), ?? of Malaysia (17.5mil) in 2006.
Mr. Tuan believes that Vietnam's tourism industry has a chance to make a breakthrough in the near future. It can take off and develop rapidly in the next 10 or 15 years, while Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia have already experienced the maturity period and their tourism services have become ˜saturated.
Mr. Tuan and his surveyors have suggested three solutions to the Government, associations and tourism firms.
Regarding immediate needs, Mr. Tuan says the Government should lower the VAT to less than 10%, exempt tax on imported luxury 24-seat buses and encourage the construction of shopping centers and duty-free shops. Vietnam should also think of setting up a national tourism promotion fund and establish representative offices in its main markets, including Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, Sweden and the US.
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