Comparison of Tourist Arrivals in Bac Ninh with the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands in the Period 2005

Table 2.3. Comparison of tourist arrivals in Bac Ninh with the Red River Delta and the Mekong Delta in the period 2005 - 2011

Criteria

Unit of measure

Year

2005

Year

2010

Year

2011

Total number of tourists

% compared to the Red River Delta & the Central Highlands

Number of visitors

61176

0.43

196491

0.94

247247

0.77

Domestic guests

% compared to the Red River Delta & the Central Highlands

Number of visitors

58100

0.51

188336

1.1

233698

0.89

International guests

% compared to the Red River Delta & the Central Highlands

Number of visitors

3076

0.11

8155

0.21

13549

0.24

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(Source: Author processed data from [24], [26], [36])

This situation is completely disproportionate to the number and density of relics as well as the diversity and uniqueness of tourism resources in Bac Ninh. That is because Bac Ninh's geographical location is too close to Hanoi; there is still overlap in tourism products in the province; tourism human resources are still limited in qualifications, especially the team of tour guides. In addition, currently some historical relics are degraded, some festivals have lost the sacred ritual part and only have the festival part or the problem of pollution in traditional craft villages are all obstacles to the development of tourism in Bac Ninh.

Regarding structure: The structure of tourist destinations in Bac Ninh has an imbalance between international and domestic visitors. The number of international visitors is very small, accounting for only 5% of the total number of tourists to Bac Ninh in 2005. From 2005 to 2010, international tourist destinations in Bac Ninh also accounted for a very low proportion, less than 6% of the total number of tourists to Bac Ninh. This situation shows that Bac Ninh tourism has not yet created a strong brand for tourism destinations in general and especially international tourist destinations. This is also a common limitation of the Vietnamese tourism industry when tourism products are still duplicated and the quality of tourism services is still not high.

Figure 2.6. Structure of tourists to Bac Ninh in the period 2005 - 2015

(Source: Author processed data from [24], [26])

However, after Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs were recognized as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity in September 2009, the Bac Ninh tourism industry in particular and the Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee in general have taken many measures to preserve and promote the value of this art form along with other cultural values (traditional craft villages, traditional festivals, etc.), so it has had great attraction to the tourist area and has created a more balanced structure although this growth rate is still slow. By 2015, in the structure of Bac Ninh's tourist area, international visitors accounted for 6.2% and 93.8% were domestic visitors.

a. Domestic guests

Domestic tourism is still the main tourist destination of the province, accounting for over 90% of the total number of visitors to Bac Ninh every year, and most of them are religious tourism, visiting historical and cultural relics, craft villages, and attending festivals. In the period 2005 - 2015, the number of domestic tourists increased rapidly from 58,100 in 2005 to

540,000 visitors in 2015 and 9.3 times more than in 2005.

Figure 2.7. Number of domestic tourists to Bac Ninh in the period 2005 - 2015

(Source: Author processed data from [24], [26])

The source of domestic tourism to Bac Ninh has increased sharply since 2010. That is because the locality has organized many activities to promote and invest in tourism development: Organizing the Quan Ho singing contest in early spring, Returning to Quan Ho land, Tourism Trade Fair, and many other cultural and sports events. After 2014 with the Bac Ninh Festival 2014 with the theme "Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac's heroic spirit", the Bac Ninh Cherry Blossom Festival in March 2016 attracted thousands of tourists to the Quan Ho homeland.

The domestic tourist market mainly comes from Hanoi and the Northern and North Central provinces, accounting for 90% of the total number of domestic tourist destinations to Bac Ninh due to its close geographical distance, located on important traffic routes connecting to the Hanoi Capital region, convenient transportation, and no need for long-term stays. In 2015, the number of visitors from Hanoi was the largest, accounting for 46% of the total number of domestic visitors, and the least from other Southern provinces was only 4%.

Table 2.4. Structure of domestic tourists to Bac Ninh by market in the period 2006 - 2015

(Unit: %)

Market	2006	2008	2010	2012	2015
1	Hanoi	45	45	46	46	46
2	Other Northern provinces	20	20	19	20	18
3	Hue - Da Nang	10	10	11	10	12
4	Other North Central provinces	15	15	14	13	14
5	Ho Chi Minh City	5	5	6	6	6
6	Other Southern provinces	5	5	4	5	4

(Source: Author processed data from [24], [26])

The main purpose of domestic tourism is pure tourism, sightseeing and learning about the cultural identity of Bac Ninh - Kinh Bac region, accounting for 46% of the total number of domestic visitors to Bac Ninh in 2015. Domestic tourism mainly comes to Bac Ninh during the first 3 months of the year's festivals and cultural and sports events. Visiting relatives accounts for a small proportion of 9%, the rest is tourism for other purposes and commerce.

b. International guests

The number of international visitors to Bac Ninh increased by an average of 29.9% per year in the period 2005 - 2015; increased from 3,076 visitors in 2005 to 36,000 visitors in 2015 and increased by 32,924 international visitors, 11.7 times higher than in 2005. In particular, the number of international visitors to Bac Ninh in the period 2011 - 2015 increased faster than in the period 2005 - 2010 with an average growth rate of 35% per year.

With the tourism development policy that focuses on the international tourism market by investing in technical facilities combined with improving the quality of tourism human resources, building new tourism tours suitable to the tastes of tourism areas, the number of international tourists coming to Bac Ninh has increased rapidly in both quantity and market share [Appendix 06], [Appendix 07], [Appendix 08].

Table 2.5. Number of international tourists to Bac Ninh in the period 2005 - 2015

Year

Number of international visitors (number of visitors)	% increase over same period last year
2005	3076	39.8
2006	4500	46.3
2007	5559	23.5
2008	6971	25.4
2009	7796	11.8
2010	8155	4.6
2011	13549	66.1
2012	16500	21.8
2013	22,000	33.3
2014	28,000	27.3
2015	36,000	28.6

(Source: [24], [26])

In Bac Ninh, most international visitors are transient visitors, reaching 50-60% in the period 2005-2015. Currently, the number of guests staying tends to increase because Bac Ninh actively organizes cultural and sports events: Returning to Quan Ho region, Bac Ninh Festival 2014; Bac Ninh cherry blossom festival in March 2016 organized by Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee, Japan International Cultural Association and AIC International Progress Joint Stock Company at Kinh Bac Cultural Center; ...

International visitors to Bac Ninh mainly come to visit and learn about historical and cultural relics, study cultural values at relics, learn about and enjoy the heritage of Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs, learn about handicraft products, etc. Therefore, pure tourism accounts for 46% of total international visitors to Bac Ninh.

30%

46%

15%

Purely Commercial Tourism Visiting Relatives

Other purposes

Figure 2.8. Structure of international tourists to Bac Ninh by trip purpose in 2015

(Source: Author processed data from [24], [26])

The market share of international tourism mainly comes from Southeast Asia because this is a region with a culture that has many similarities with Vietnamese culture in general and Bac Ninh culture in particular, so it has great attraction for tourists, especially visitors from countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, ... but currently there is a tendency to decrease to 56% of the total number of international visitors to Bac Ninh in 2015. Tourism from North America accounts for a small proportion but tends to increase from 10% in 2006 to 20% in 2015.

Table 2.6. Market structure of international visitors to Bac Ninh in the period 2006 - 2015

(Unit: %)

Year

Market

2006	2010	2015
North America	10	17	20
Southeast Asia	60	61	56
Other nationalities	30	22	24
(Source: [24], [26])

The above change in the structure of tourist sources shows that Bac Ninh tourism has created unique and attractive products even for the demanding tourism market like in North America.

Through the above situation, it can be seen that domestic tourism is still the main tourist market to Bac Ninh, accounting for over 90% of the total number of tourist areas. Domestic tourists have grown quite steadily over the years and have less strong fluctuations than international tourists. Tourists come to Bac Ninh mainly in the first 3 months of spring and partly in the summer, accounting for about 60% of the total number of visitors. That is because Bac Ninh has many historical and cultural relics, many traditional festivals, craft villages, ... so the number of tourists going to the temple at the beginning of the year to pray for luck, going to spring festivals is very large. In the summer, island tourism in Hai Phong and Quang Ninh is very developed, and Bac Ninh is located on an important tourist route of the Red River Delta and the Red River Delta, connecting the tourist center of Hanoi with the eastern coastal region (Hai Phong, Quang Ninh).

2.2.1.2. Average spending and days of stay

a. Average guest stay

The number of days that international and domestic visitors stay at accommodation establishments in Bac Ninh is relatively short, averaging only about 0.9 - 1.4 days. The main reason here is that Bac Ninh is relatively close to Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh, so tourists from Hanoi often only visit tourist attractions in Bac Ninh and return to Hanoi or to Hai Phong and Quang Ninh provinces.

On the other hand, tourism services for food, entertainment are still lacking and not developed synchronously, the distance between tourist spots is close so tourists can visit many places in a short time. Therefore, tourist spots in Bac Ninh are mainly transient visitors in the Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh tour.

b. Tourist spending level

According to the survey results of spending of tourist areas at some tourist spots and hotels in Bac Ninh in 2015. However, due to the short number of days that guests stay in Bac Ninh, the spending level of tourist areas is still lower than that of some neighboring provinces and cities: Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh.

- International tourist area is 76 USD (about 1.6 million VND/day/person). Of which, international visitors spend 500,000 VND on accommodation services; 650,000 VND on food and drink; 220,000 VND on transportation; 230,000 VND on sightseeing activities, ...

- Domestic tourism spends 24 USD (about 500,000 VND/day/person). Of which, an average of 180,000 VND is spent on accommodation services; 270,000 VND on food and drink; the rest is spent on other activities [26].

2.2.1.3. Tourism revenue

The number of tourists coming to Bac Ninh has increased rapidly, and the length of stay and demand for tourism services have also increased, contributing to increasing tourism income for the locality. In 2015, tourism revenue reached 382 billion VND, 8.2 times higher than in 2005.

Figure 2.9. Bac Ninh tourism revenue in the period 2005 - 2015

(Source: Author processed data from [24], [26])

In terms of structure, revenue from food and beverage services accounts for the highest proportion but is on a downward trend. Revenue from accommodation services, passenger transportation, goods sales, and travel have also increased rapidly in recent years. Currently, revenue from accommodation has the highest proportion, accounting for over 35% of total tourism revenue; followed by revenue from food and beverage; entertainment, passenger transportation, etc. This shows that tourism services in Bac Ninh have met the increasing needs of the tourist area.

Comparison of Tourist Arrivals in Bac Ninh with the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands in the Period 2005 - 2011

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