Such as the inspection and handling of violations in tourism activities have not been strictly handled. The propaganda and promotion work of state management agencies and enterprises is still limited in funding, there is no mechanism for coordination between tourism management agencies and tourism businesses. There is no close connection between the tourism industry and related industries such as trade, culture, information, etc. to research investment and diversify tourism products. There is no policy mechanism to attract human resources for the province's industries in general and the tourism industry in particular, as well as for tourism businesses in the province. They have not paid attention to attracting qualified workers, but they mainly focus on unskilled workers.
On the local people factor
Characteristics of local people are an important component of destination environmental conditions affecting the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
Table 4.30: Descriptive statistics of the level of agreement on the local people factor
Observation variable
Sample | Value lowest | Value highest | Value medium | Deviation standard | |
Hospitality of local people local. | 359 | 2 | 5 | 3.69 | ,965 |
Typical traditional cultural features local | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.68 | ,952 |
Characteristics of local people: brother Heroic in war, honest and creative in life. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.60 | ,992 |
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Source: Author's research results Through the descriptive statistics table on the level of agreement of the local people factor, it shows that the average score of the observed variables is very high (>3). With this result, most of the observed variables in this factor are important components of the local destination environmental conditions factor that positively affect the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
local people factors:
Advantages: For generations, Ben Tre people have preserved the traditional culture of the riverine people of the Southwest region. They know how to preserve and maintain the pristine features of garden culture, maintain the ecological environment with the vast green of coconut gardens, fruit gardens of all kinds and colors, along with rich flora and fauna resources... Besides, Ben Tre people are always proud of their friendliness and hospitality, being the homeland of the patriotic heroes "Dong Khoi -
Ben Tre”. Therefore, when talking about Ben Tre, domestic and foreign tourists immediately imagine that it is the homeland of coconut, the homeland of long hair, of standing posture and the homeland of patriotic heroes in the war. All of these converge to create a potential for sustainable tourism development for Ben Tre, including the strength to develop eco-tourism associated with community tourism. This is also a favorable environmental condition for the province's tourism enterprises to exploit and promote their tourism products associated with these characteristics.
Disadvantages: In addition to the advantages of hospitality and traditional culture of the people of the Mekong Delta, there is still a group of people working in tourism who lack professional ethics, causing tourists to lose confidence. At the same time, environmental pollution in those places also significantly reduces the number of tourists.
About natural environmental factors
Ben Tre's natural environment is an important component of destination environmental conditions affecting the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
Table 4.31: Descriptive statistics of the level of agreement on natural environment factors
Observation variable
Sample | Value lowest | Value highest | Value medium | Deviation standard | |
Beautiful natural landscape characterized by coconut trees, dunes and river areas garden. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.62 | ,894 |
Water and air are clean by the green coconut trees | 359 | 2 | 5 | 3.67 | ,920 |
Cultural and historical relics with strong character history, local cultural identity | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.67 | ,893 |
Source: Author's research results Through the descriptive statistics table on the level of agreement of the natural environment factor, it shows that the average score of the observed variables is very high (>3). With this result, most of the observed variables in this factor are important components of the local destination environmental conditions factor that positively affect the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
State of the local natural environment:
Advantages: Ben Tre is a province in the Mekong Delta, with a natural area of 2,360 km2 , formed by An Hoa island, Bao island, Minh island and formed by alluvium of 4 branches of the Mekong River (Tien river, Ba Lai river, Ham Luong river, Co Chien river). Ben Tre is 86 km from Ho Chi Minh city, 120 km from Can Tho city, bordered to the north by
Tien Giang province, the West and South border Vinh Long province and Tra Vinh province, the East border the East Sea. The climate of Ben Tre province is in the equatorial tropical monsoon climate zone, with two distinct seasons: the rainy season from May to November, the dry season from December to April of the following year. The average annual rainfall is from 2,000 to 2,300 mm, the average annual temperature is from 26 0 C - 27 0 C. With its location adjacent to the East Sea, Ben Tre is less affected by storms and floods, the climate is mild and cool all year round.
Regarding land resources, Ben Tre is a province with abundant land resources, with many types of soil such as: sandy soil, alluvial soil, acid sulfate soil, and saline soil. The province's agricultural production is increasingly expanding, the need for intensive farming and increasing crops is increasingly focused on. Over the past 20 years, with their efforts, the people of Ben Tre as well as the entire Southern Delta have carried out many projects to remove acidity and salt, and improve the land to exploit and use this resource more effectively.
Regarding water resources, Ben Tre province has four major rivers flowing through it: My Tho River, Ba Lai River, Ham Luong River and Co Chien River. These rivers play an important role in the activities of tourism businesses and the lives of people in the province such as: providing fresh water for daily life and agriculture, developing types of eco-tourism on the river, contributing to beautifying the landscape and regulating the climate. In addition to the four main rivers above, Ben Tre also has a dense system of rivers, canals and ditches connecting together, forming a very convenient transportation and irrigation network. On average, along the main rivers, there is a canal or ditch every 1 to 2km. Ben Tre has hundreds of rivers, canals and ditches, many of which are 50 to 100m wide. The rivers have divided the land of Ben Tre into islands or sandbars such as Tien Long island, Thanh Tan island, Lang island, Oc island, La island, Dat island, Phung island, Ho island, Loi island,... It is the richness of the river and canal system in Ben Tre that on both sides of it, there are fertile fields, lush fruit gardens, densely populated villages, river wharves, ferry terminals, markets bustling with boats, creating the scenery of a large, prosperous and poetic countryside. With a very rich river and canal system in the province, it will be a favorable condition for Ben Tre tourism businesses to develop underwater tourism.
Regarding animal and plant resources: Located between the river and sea environment, influenced by the tropical monsoon climate, Ben Tre's natural landscape has the characteristics of the fauna and flora geography of the Southwest region. The large rivers and the East Sea in Ben Tre have many types of aquatic products such as: sea bass, pineapple fish, silver pomfret, anchovy,
Anchovies, clams, crabs and shrimps, etc. are extremely rich sources of raw materials for the culinary culture of Ben Tre tourism. As a province with 3 coastal districts: Ba Tri, Binh Dai and Thanh Phu, protective forests in the districts are being protected to stabilize the coastal protective forest belt. By the end of 2010, Ben Tre had planted 72 hectares of new forests, cared for 336 hectares and protected 3,461 hectares. This is an extremely favorable environmental condition for the province's tourism businesses to exploit and promote their unique tourism products.
Disadvantages: Due to the characteristics of Ben Tre as a river area, Ben Tre ecotourism is often associated with the natural environment such as coconut trees, rivers, boats, craft villages, relics, etc., making the natural environment increasingly polluted. In addition, due to the need for tourism development, some companies and tourism establishments have changed the status quo of the natural environment such as: digging artificial canals, encroaching on the banks, building artificial tourist areas, etc., which have destroyed the pristine beauty of nature.
Reason: The province still lacks many regulations on resource management and management of tourist areas and spots. The work of inspecting and controlling environmental pollution has not received due attention and the handling of violations in tourism activities has not been strict. The work of propagating and mobilizing people and businesses in preserving and protecting the environment and tourism resources has not been paid attention to.
4.2.3.4 Current status of price competitiveness
According to research results, price competition is an important factor affecting the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
Table 4.32: Descriptive statistics of the level of agreement on price competition factor
Observation variable
Sample | Value lowest | Value highest | Value medium | Deviation standard | |
Price is commensurate with product quality and service service provided. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.82 | ,966 |
Competitive product and service prices compared to competitor. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.63 | ,931 |
Product and service prices with discount by subject, number of tourists. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.76 | ,989 |
Prices of products and services are very flexible to suit the needs and income of each customer. row. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.76 | ,977 |
Source: Author's research results
Through the descriptive statistics table on the level of agreement of the price competition factor, it shows that the average score of the observed variables is very high (>3). With this result, most of the observed variables in this factor positively affect the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises. The current situation of price competition of Ben Tre tourism enterprises:
Advantages: According to the survey results of the price factors of tourism services of tourism enterprises conducted by the Tourism Promotion Center - Department of Culture - Sports - Tourism of Ben Tre in 2013 (according to Table 4.33 ), tourists rated the price factor of services at a fairly average level. Specifically, the price of food and beverage services is the most competitive and is rated the cheapest by international tourists, with an average score of 2.65; meanwhile, domestic tourists consider the prices of other services to be the cheapest with an average score of 2.78. This is an advantage that Ben Tre tourism enterprises need to maintain and promote. A more favorable thing is that most of the evaluation levels of international tourists are lower or equal, or in other words, cheaper than or equal to the evaluation level of domestic tourists. This can be explained by the fact that international tourists mostly come from more developed countries, which have more expensive costs, as well as their willingness to pay for tourism is higher than Ben Tre.
Table 4.33: Tourists' reviews of tourism prices in Ben Tre
Factors
Domestic guests | International guests | |
Accommodation price. | 3.03 | 2.97 |
Food service prices. | 2.91 | 2.65 |
Shipping cost. | 3.67 | 3.63 |
Package tour price. | 3.15 | 3.11 |
Prices of nighttime entertainment services. | 3.11 | 2.69 |
Shopping price. | 3.03 | 3.03 |
Prices of other services. | 2.78 | 2.68 |
Scale from 1-> 5 with 1: very cheap; 2: cheap; 3: average; 4: expensive; 5: very expensive .
Source: Department of Culture - Sports - Tourism of Ben Tre province Disadvantages: Although highly appreciated for its ability to compete on price, in the
In terms of price, transportation fares are rated by both international and domestic tourists with a fairly high average score of 3.63 to 3.67. In addition, tours are often sporadic, prices are not managed, there is price gouging, commissions are too high for brokers and some people working in tourism lack professional ethics, making tourists lose confidence.
Reason: The province still lacks many regulations on price management and specific price listing for tourism service units and establishments. The province's tourism management agencies have not yet controlled price factors, have not provided guidelines by suggesting minimum prices to protect small suppliers in fierce price competition as well as protect consumer rights. The handling of price violations in tourism activities has not been strict. The work of propagating and mobilizing people and businesses to compete fairly on prices, maintaining the image and reputation of businesses in particular and Ben Tre in general has not been paid attention to.
4.2.3.5 Current status of organizational and management capacity
According to research results, organizational and management capacity is an important factor affecting the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
Table 4.34: Descriptive statistics of the level of agreement on organizational and management capacity factors
Observation variable
Sample | Value lowest | Value highest | Value medium | Deviation standard | |
Enterprises with effective and flexible organizational structures can take advantage of these advantages. of Ben Tre. | 359 | 2 | 5 | 3.69 | ,995 |
Personnel arrangement and replacement in The company always ensures good service activities. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.65 | 1,008 |
Enterprises can organize alliances, Good cooperation with partners inside and outside the province. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.62 | ,991 |
The organizational structure of a business has its own characteristics in terms of culture, people and homeland. Ben Tre flavor | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.70 | ,960 |
Source: Author's research results
Through the descriptive statistics table on the level of agreement of the organizational and management capacity factor, it shows that the average score of the observed variables is very high (>3). With this result, most of the observed variables in this factor positively affect the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises. Current status of organizational and management capacity of Ben Tre tourism enterprises:
Advantages: To support tourism businesses, the Province strengthens cooperation and association activities with the authorities and businesses of neighboring provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho City, Tien Giang Province, Vinh Long Province, Tra Vinh Province to implement the program of developing inter-cluster tourism in the Eastern Coast of the Mekong Delta with forms of product development, market development, route connection, cluster space connection at the State level,
industry, businesses and tourist areas. Products and services in Ben Tre reach tourists through travel companies, travel agents, hotels, etc. Currently, Ben Tre tourism businesses use both direct and indirect distribution to tourists. Firstly, tourists will contact travel companies in Ben Tre themselves to buy tours in the province or buy open tours to areas near Ben Tre. The companies will introduce the main tours for them to choose from or will serve according to the needs of customers. Secondly, tourists coming to Ben Tre are brought back by travel companies in Ho Chi Minh City. Travel businesses in Ben Tre will receive guests and take them on tours according to the tour program agreed with partners.
Disadvantages: In general, with the current level, the organizational and management capacity of Ben Tre tourism enterprises is not effective in direct distribution, reflected in the activities of promoting, advertising, and building brands for their typical tourism products to domestic and foreign tourists. Indirect distribution lacks initiative in connecting routes and tourist destinations inside and outside the province, alliances and links lack sustainability and mainly rely on intermediary tour operators.
Reason: The province also encourages businesses to reform their organizational structure.
conditions for tourism development. However, with the small scale of labor and financial resources, the ability to connect, cooperate and pursue cluster tourism development programs, participate in the chain of tourism services outside the province of tourism businesses in the province is still very limited. Besides, currently the province does not have any colleges or high schools that provide training in tourism, tourism management, there are only short-term knowledge training courses for service staff in some businesses and tourist destinations. The issue of sending employees for training by tourism business owners has not been given attention.
4.2.3.6 Current status of marketing capacity
According to research results, marketing capacity is an important factor affecting the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
Table 4.35: Descriptive statistics of the level of agreement on marketing capacity factors
Observation variable
Sample | Value lowest | Value highest | Value medium | Deviation standard | |
Marketing activities in business always meet customer needs and tastes. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.70 | ,935 |
Businesses always respond well to competitors compete. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.69 | ,953 |
Businesses that are able to adapt well to environmental changes | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.73 | ,958 |
The strategy for developing tourism marketing activities of the business is always effective | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.73 | ,894 |
Quality of business relationships with customers always guaranteed. | 359 | 1 | 5 | 3.69 | ,934 |
Source: Author's research results Through the descriptive statistics table on the level of agreement of the marketing capacity factor, it shows that the average score of the observed variables is very high (>3). With this result, most of the observed variables in this factor positively affect the competitiveness of Ben Tre tourism enterprises.
Current status of marketing capacity of Ben Tre tourism enterprises:
Advantages: Since 2000, the eco-tourism model - river tourism combined with visiting traditional craft villages has been built and strongly developed by businesses in the coconut land of Ben Tre. The province has cooperated with businesses to build a development strategy for each craft village and each industry to promote the unique cultural features of each region and locality. The beauty, meaning and effectiveness of craft villages gradually bring novelty, stimulate tourists' exploration and perception as well as contribute to improving the lives of farmers in the hospitable coconut land. Currently, many craft villages have been recognized and attracted tourists such as: coconut handicrafts in Chau Thanh, Mo Cay Nam, Giong Trom, Ben Tre city; mat weaving villages in Nhon Thanh (Ben Tre city), An Hiep (Chau Thanh district); ornamental flower and tree seedlings villages in Vinh Thanh (Cai Mon) and communes of Cho Lach district; Hoa Loi jar casting village, coconut broom tying village in My An commune (Thanh Phu); Phuoc Tuy weaving village; Phu Le handicraft village (Ba Tri); dried fish village in An Thuy (Ba Tri), Binh Thang (Binh Dai); My Thanh pliers village (Giong Trom); My Long rice paper village, Son Doc rice crackers village (Giong Trom).
According to the survey results of marketing activities at tourism businesses conducted by the Tourism Promotion Center - Department of Culture - Sports - Tourism Ben Tre in 2015.