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Development Solutions of Vietnam's Tourism Industry to Meet Integration Requirements

CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS FOR VIETNAM'S TOURISM INDUSTRY TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF INTEGRATION

INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY IN THE COMING TIME


I. FORECASTING DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF VIETNAM'S TOURISM INDUSTRY IN THE COMING TIME

1. Vietnam's accession to the WTO is an opportunity to attract foreign investors to Vietnam.

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The event of joining the WTO helps news and images of Vietnam's destinations appear impressively and continuously on foreign television channels and news agencies. Thanks to that, the Vietnamese brand is known to the world more. In the near future, domestic companies will approach many markets. Foreign tourists can proactively come and we do not have to search for new sources of customers without knowing the effectiveness. Moreover, tourists will feel secure when coming to Vietnam, as a new market but with similarities to their country, because it has entered the world's common playground. According to General Director of Vietravel tourism company Nguyen Quoc Ky, international friends will have a new perspective on Vietnam, through discovering world heritages, natural beauty, unique culture, stable economy - politics, hospitality of the people..., not just as a heroic country in the war against foreign invaders. Mr. Ki added that joining the WTO with commitments to open up almost all economic sectors also creates opportunities for Vietnam to adjust and perfect its legal system to be in line with international standards. The time to establish a business is shortened, unnecessary paperwork is abolished... will attract many investors, contributing to improving and developing the tourism infrastructure which is still very lacking and weak in the country.

Becoming an official member of the WTO, Vietnam is facing new opportunities, Vietnam's position has been raised, the "playing field" is wide open and the rules of the game are clear. The process of WTO integration will promote the improvement and expansion of bilateral and multilateral economic relations between Vietnam and the world, contributing to the investment and business environment in general and in the tourism sector in particular of our country.

Development Solutions of Vietnam's Tourism Industry to Meet Integration Requirements

increasingly open, freer and more equal competition. Thus, encouraging economic sectors to participate and mobilize many resources for business activities, especially in the tourism sector.

By joining the WTO, Vietnam will truly integrate into the world economy because the WTO is an organization of 151 members, accounting for about 90 of total global trade in services. With the advantages brought by the WTO, Vietnam has the conditions to increase access to the markets of other member countries, expand the tourism market, and attract more and more tourists from other countries.

After joining the WTO, our ability to attract FDI has been increasingly improved, including a large source of investment capital in the tourism sector. This is an important source of capital to develop our country's tourism industry to keep up with the level of countries in the region and the world. The WTO is opening up new investment prospects. Currently, many new economic groups are paying attention to Vietnam and will "flock" to invest in the tourism sector.

Integration also creates opportunities to learn knowledge, experience, management skills, and tourism business organization from countries with developed tourism industries; helping to train human resources to keep up with international standards. The removal of barriers also allows for an increase in the flow of tourists between countries. In addition, the competitive pressure caused by integration also creates a strong driving force to promote the process of innovation, improvement, and enhancement of product quality of tourism businesses in order to survive and develop sustainably.

However, WTO integration is also identified as a fierce challenge for the tourism industry. Vietnam tourism is in the initial stage of joining the WTO, so tourism service providers must both cooperate and learn about international mechanisms and rules. Therefore, there are many limitations and difficulties, while the legal system is not yet complete. In fact, the competitiveness of our country's tourism is still low because services are not diversified, infrastructure cannot keep up with the development speed, service quality is still poor, prices are high, tourism products are not rich, leading to our country's tourism not being able to retain visitors, prolonging the length of stay, and the rate of visitors returning for the second time is still low.

Integration will create great pressure for Vietnamese tourism businesses in competition. Most of our tourism businesses are small and medium sized, with limited service quality and low management capacity. The tourism workforce is lacking and weak in foreign language skills and experience, especially lacking highly qualified people. The integration and opening process can also create the risk of destroying the environment and tourism landscape if there is no attention and effective management measures. These are some of the main challenges facing the tourism industry in general and Vietnamese tourism businesses in particular when joining the WTO.

2. Vietnam's growing position in the international arena arouses the curiosity and desire to explore of foreign tourists.

Over the past years, with the attention and direction of the Party and the State, the support of relevant departments and branches and the efforts of the entire industry, Vietnam tourism has made strong progress and is gradually integrating into the development process of world tourism. Vietnam's position is increasingly affirmed and enhanced.

Vietnam is increasingly emerging as a safe and friendly destination. Vietnam's position is increasingly enhanced in the international arena due to the effect of the APEC Vietnam year, a WTO member, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a series of international forums, conferences, diplomatic, economic, cultural and sports events held in Vietnam. Our country is integrating into the international economy more and more widely and deeply. Vietnam's national competitive position is increasingly growing... These new factors are common opportunities for the entire economy, but first and foremost, the tourism industry must grasp and turn them into material strength, into a driving force for growth because tourism is closely linked to peace, security and stability.

At the same time, the international relations of Vietnam's tourism industry are increasingly expanding, Vietnam has actively participated in many bilateral and multilateral tourism cooperation forums of the region and the world. Vietnam's tourism has also expanded and strengthened international cooperation, signed 38 bilateral tourism cooperation agreements at the Government level with countries in and outside the region, established relations with more than 1,000 travel agencies from more than 50 countries and territories. Regarding multilateral cooperation, Vietnam has signed cooperation agreements

multilateral tourism cooperation with 10 ASEAN countries, proactively participating in tourism development programs. We also actively and effectively participate in international and regional tourism cooperation forums such as the World Tourism Organization, ASEAN tourism cooperation, Asia-Pacific Tourism Association, the Greater Mekong Sub-region Tourism Development Program, East-West Corridor cooperation, Mekong-Ganga River tourism cooperation , successfully organizing the APEC Tourism Ministers Meeting 2006 which was highly appreciated by international friends and in 2009, Vietnam hosted the ASEAN Tourism Forum. Currently, our country is also a member of tourism organizations: ASEANTA, PATA, UNWTO.

From being at the bottom of ASEAN, over the past 10 years, Vietnam has surpassed the Philippines, only behind the 4 leading tourism developed countries: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The Vietnamese brand is increasingly affirmed and promoted. In a recently published report by the brand development company Future Brand, Vietnam appeared in 7th place in the world in terms of tourism growth rate and will be one of the top 10 destinations of world tourism in the next 10 years. Tourists as well as foreign press all talk about Vietnam with the same comment: Vietnam is a destination with many attractive Asian features, suggesting discoveries, but most importantly, this is also a friendly destination, security is guaranteed in a volatile world. For tourism, the world's people will know the new image of Vietnam; will be curious, wanting to learn how the country whose image is associated with war and poverty has, is and will change. Therefore, the number of tourists coming to Vietnam will increase. In particular, with a stable political situation, a transparent system of policies and laws, foreign enterprises will come to invest in Vietnam more and more, bringing great changes to the country's tourism industry.

In the future, with the achievements that have been made, the Vietnamese tourism industry will continue to strive to mobilize combined strength to create a breakthrough so that Vietnam can soon become a major tourism center in the region.

3. Vietnam's tourism industry is considered by the State as a spearhead economic sector.

In the report “Opportunities of Vietnam’s tourism industry (2007-2009)”, global industry research firm RNCOS predicted that Vietnam will be among the 10 most attractive tourist destinations in the world by 2016. According to RNCOS’s calculations, in the next 5 years (2008-2011), the growth rate of Vietnam’s tourism industry will always reach over 14% and this is also “one of the economies showing the most impressive growth in Asia”. RNCOS’s economic experts affirmed that thanks to the boom of the tourism industry, there will be more job opportunities, increased income for people and increased purchasing power. The tourism industry will also play an important role in the growth of Vietnam’s economy. Transportation, healthcare and other related industries will also benefit from the boom of tourism. The report emphasized: “Tourism is among the fastest growing industries in most countries in the world. In Asian countries, Vietnam is among the tourist destinations with the highest growth rate. In recent years, Vietnam has welcomed tourists from many countries and regions.”

Implementing the Party's policy: " Consistently implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, openness, multilateralization, and diversification of international economic relations. Vietnam is ready to be a friend and reliable partner of countries in the international community, striving for peace, independence and development " 19. The Party has had correct and comprehensive policies and viewpoints through a series of adjustments to economic structure, competitiveness enhancement, laws, policies and mechanisms to suit the reality of our country, as well as international practices, clearly reflected in the provisions of bilateral and multilateral agreements. The above viewpoints have had a significant impact on the tourism industry.

The Party and State have identified that " Developing tourism as a spearhead economic sector is a positive direction to promote economic restructuring, promote the development of other sectors, and contribute to the industrialization and modernization of the country."




19 Documents of the 10th National Party Congress, Draft 5-year Socio-Economic Development Plan 2006-2010

20. The tourism industry needs to increase its proportion in the service sector, contributing to increasing the proportion of the service sector in the national economy, shifting the structure towards industrialization and modernization. Tourism development must create favorable conditions to promote the rapid development of related industries: transportation, insurance, banking, commodity production industries , etc. Tourism development must actively contribute to the implementation of the national socio-economic development strategy, aiming to achieve the goal that by 2010 our country will basically become an industrialized country, Vietnam will be among the group of countries with developed tourism in the region. Furthermore, " developing tourism quickly and sustainably, taking advantage of all domestic and foreign resources, promoting the combined strength of economic sectors, improving quality and diversifying products to meet development requirements " 21 . Currently, Vietnam's tourism is still at an average position compared to other countries in the region, so to achieve the goal of our country being one of the leading countries in tourism development in the bloc by 2010, it is necessary to rapidly develop tourism and increase the contribution of tourism to the country's GDP in the coming time. However, tourism must not be rapidly developed at all costs, but must be based on sustainable development. Sustainable tourism development according to the policy of our Party and State is to develop on the basis of protecting the natural and social environment, preserving and promoting the long-standing traditions of the nation, and cultural and historical values.

To proactively integrate with world tourism, the Government has issued the Tourism Development Strategy and the National Tourism Action Program, invested thousands of billions of VND to support investment in technical infrastructure in key tourist areas and attracted foreign direct investment projects in tourism. Hundreds of new hotels and high-end tourist areas have been built, increasing the number of hotel rooms and tourism products that meet international standards. Promotion, advertising, and human resource training have also been strengthened. These factors have created conditions for attracting more and more foreign tourists to Vietnam.




20 Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (2002), Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy for the period 2006-2010, Hanoi

21 Ministry of Culture - Sports and Tourism (2007), National Action Program of the tourism industry for the period 2006-2010, Hanoi

Vietnam has also completed and implemented the Law on Tourism and issued many guiding documents to create a clearer legal environment for tourism business activities. In the process of innovation and international integration, our country's tourism business force has also developed and gradually adapted to the new mechanism.

Currently, human tourism businesses are being equitized and reorganized towards forming strong tourism corporations, parent companies - subsidiaries to gradually operate effectively in the international competitive environment. The tourism industry strives to achieve tourism revenue of 4 - 5 billion USD by 2010, double that of 2005, making Vietnam a developed country in tourism in the region. The goal is to achieve tourism revenue of 10 billion USD by 2020.

Regarding total tourism product (GDP), the industry strives to reach 3 billion USD in 2010, 3.6 times higher than in 2000. Ensure the average tourism GDP growth rate in the 2006-2010 period reaches 15.6%.

Regarding tourism infrastructure, the industry aims to improve and build new accommodation facilities to ensure that by 2010 there will be 212,000 hotel rooms.

The tourism industry strives to create 1.4 million additional direct and indirect jobs for the tourism industry by 2010.

II. LEARNING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF SOME COUNTRIES IN DEVELOPING TOURISM SERVICES

1. China's experience

China is known as a country with the world's leading tourism economy. China's tourism development is strong, first of all based on the strength of its unique and rich cultural potential. China is a large country with a long history of culture. Therefore, wherever tourists go in this country, they will have attractive tourist destinations. Today's Chinese people know how to preserve, embellish and promote those traditional cultural values ​​to develop tourism.

1.1. Emphasizing national cultural identity in tourism products

One of the factors leading to the success of Chinese tourism in attracting international tourists is the construction of unique and quantitative products.

Chinese cultural identity. The unique cultural festivals of the Zhuang, Mong, and Yao people in Yunnan and Guangxi; the dances and songs of the nomads on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; each place name, each famous character in ancient literature... are all preserved and transformed into unique mass products bearing the "Chinese" label. Cultural and historical relics such as the Great Wall, Summer Palace, and Thirteen Tombs in Beijing; West Lake in Hangzhou, and the Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan ... although terribly destroyed by time and war, are still being built and restored by today's Chinese people, with no expense or effort spared. According to estimates by the World Travel and Tourism Organization, investment in China's tourism industry in 2004 reached 512.1 billion yuan, accounting for 9.6% of the country's total investment turnover. Besides ancient architecture, along with economic development, modern works of China are equally attractive. Coming to Beijing, in addition to ancient relics, tourists can admire the splendid night street of Trang An; stroll along the Nanjing walking street ... are indispensable points in the itinerary of visitors. Up to now, most of China's tourism resources have been exploited, although the efficiency is uneven. The exploitation of tourism resources along with the organization of increasingly perfect tourism services has made the world know about tourism products with strong Chinese colors, highly attractive to tourists. Professor Wang Ligang - Director of the China Tourism Research Institute said that in 2007, China welcomed more than 50 million international visitors, thanks to its unique tourism products.

Currently, almost all localities in China have successfully built pedestrian-shopping streets following the model of Wangfujing in Beijing. Major cities in China have successfully built a tourism-commercial model, attracting tourists to not only visit, but also shop, explore the market, and seek investment opportunities. According to Wen Ziji, Deputy Director of the Beijing Tourism Bureau, currently, of the more than 3 million foreign tourists who come to the city each year, about 30% are commercial tourists.

1.2. Highlight the uniqueness and characteristics of each tourist destination

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