International Visitors to An Giang and Other Localities Vpc, 2007 2017

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

369

305

156

2007

2017

49 75

An Giang Can Tho Kien Giang Dong Thap

Look at the picture

International visitors reached 4.35%. However, the number of international visitors to An Giang is still low when compared to other VPC localities (Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2. International visitors to An Giang and other localities VPC, 2007 2017

(Source: Compiled from Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 2018)

Figure 3.2 shows that the number of international visitors to An Giang is 4.9 times lower than the number of international visitors to Kien Giang, 4.1 times lower than Can Tho and even lower than the number of international visitors to Dong Thap in 2017. The average length of stay of international visitors is only 1.2 days. International tourists are mainly transit visitors, rarely stay, mainly travel purely for tourism, and spend insignificantly (Vo Van Sen et al., 2018). This result shows that An Giang tourism industry is not really attractive to international tourists even though it has many beautiful landscapes and is close to the region's key tourism routes.

The international tourist market is mainly from the US, France, Australia and some other countries.

country number

in Asia as

Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore. Recently, some

Japanese and Italian tourists have begun to visit An Giang. Of these, French and American tourists are on the rise (ESRT, 2016).

3.1.2. Tourism revenue

During the period 2007 - 2017, tourism revenue tended to increase steadily.

Table 3.3. Tourism revenue of An Giang province, 2007 - 2017

Revenue

200

201

2015

2017

Total tourism revenue (billion VND)

226

735

1.52

3,700

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			0
Tourism revenue from accommodation and travel	118	172	365	600
Other revenue (independent business establishments) specialty business, souvenirs, cuisine...)	108	563	1.15 5	3.10 0
2	Revenue structure (%)	100	100	100	100
	Tourism revenue from accommodation and travel	52.2	23.4	24.0	16.2
	Other revenue	47.8	76.6	76.0	83.8

(Source: Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang, 2010, 2015, 2018; details in Appendix 4a.3)

Data in Table 3.3 shows that total tourism revenue increased rapidly in the period 2007-2017, from 226 billion VND in 2007 to 3,700 billion VND in 2017, an increase of 16.3 times. In particular, revenue from accommodation and travel businesses increased from 117 billion VND in 2007 to 600 billion VND in 2017, an increase of 5.1 times. In particular, tourism revenue reached its highest level in 2017 (total tourism revenue reached 3,700 billion VND, of which revenue from accommodation and travel businesses reached 600 billion VND) because this was the year the tourism industry implemented many key tourism programs such as An Giang Tourism Month with the theme "An Giang - beautiful mountains and rivers" with a series of major events such as festivals

opening ceremony, culinary culture week and tourism,... In the context of association with VPC,

Revenue of An Giang and affiliated localities tends to increase rapidly (Table 3.4).

Table 3.4. Tourism revenue of An Giang province and VPC localities, 2007 - 2017

(Unit: Billion VND)

Local	2007	2017
1	An Giang	118	3700
2	Can Tho	365	2897
3	Kien Giang	316	4580
4	Dong Thap	62	650

(Source: Compiled from Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 2018)

Along with other VPC localities, An Giang's total tourism revenue tends to increase.

increasing rapidly, second only to Kien Giang. Compared to 2007, the trend

The increasing trend in visitors and revenue shows the initial effectiveness of regional linkage in tourism development in localities. However, An Giang's tourism revenue mainly comes from other activities (83.8%), while revenue from travel and accommodation activities accounts for a low proportion (26.2%). This shows that accommodation and travel activities

The tour is not effective and attractive, visitors mainly organize their own trips, mainly for spiritual purposes. On the other hand, it reflects that the products, types of tourism and services are still monotonous, shopping and entertainment services have not been invested in and cared for.

According to the service target, the main source of revenue is still from domestic tourists. Meanwhile, although the revenue from international tourists has increased, it still accounts for a small proportion. This is because the number of international tourists coming to An Giang and the number of days of stay are still low, and the level of spending is not high (Vo Van Sen et al., 2018).

3.1.3. Tourism workers

The number of human resources in the provincial tourism industry tends to increase steadily during the period.

period 2007-2015, especially direct labor (Table 3.5).

Table 3.5. Direct labor in the tourism industry of An Giang province, 2007 – 2015

Target	2007	2015
1	Number of employees (people)	1200	2573
	% compared to Mekong Delta	7.7	7.1
	% vs VPC	23.1	13.1
2	Labor qualification structure (%)	100	100
	University and post-graduate	10.8	21.6
	College, secondary school	13.3	31.2
	Vocational training	18.3	42.8
	Untrained	57.5	6.4

(Source: Compiled and processed from data of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang,

2017)

The number of direct workers tends to increase rapidly, from 1,200 people in 2007 to 25,731 people in 2015, an increase of 2.3 times. The above increase is the result of promoting human resource training and tourism profession, specifically the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

– DL cooperates with human resource training facilities in Ho Chi Minh City to organize professional training courses, focusing on restaurant and hotel management skills, communication culture, and environmental protection. Local human resource training facilities

Like An Giang University, An Giang Vocational College has also focused on training in many forms for human resources in the tourism industry.

The quality of tourism human resources is increasingly improved. The trained tourism workforce tends to increase rapidly and steadily. The number of workers with university and post-graduate degrees increased 4.2 times, from 130 people in 2007 to 500 people in 2015 (Appendix 3.3.3). The number of workers with professional training increased from 220 people in 2007 to 1,100 people in 2015. The rate of untrained workers decreased sharply, from 57.5% in 2007 to 6.4% in 2015 (Table 3.5).

However, the province's tourism human resources are still limited. In terms of quantity, although there is an increase, it has not met the future tourism development needs (forecasted shortage of about 2,000 direct workers and 4,200 indirect workers by 2020 (Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 2014). Compared to the Mekong Delta and the VPC, the number of tourism workers in An Giang still accounts for a small proportion (7.1% of the total number of workers in the Mekong Delta and 13.1% in the VPC). In terms of quality, although the level of labor has shifted, it is still low compared to the general level of the Mekong Delta and the VPC (Appendix 3.3.3).

Attitude, professional skills (table 3.6).

There are still many limitations in the staff of tourist attractions/areas.

Table 3.6. Tourists' evaluation of staff's attitude and professional skills

Evaluate

Frequency	Ratio %
Very friendly and professional	40	13.3
Friendly and professional	105	35.0
Medium	56	18.7
Unfriendly and unprofessional	89	29.7
Very unfriendly and unprofessional	10	3.3
Total	300	100.0
Mean		3.25

(Source: Tourist Survey, 2017, n=300)

The survey results show that 33% of tourists rated the staff's service attitude and skills as "average" to "very unfriendly and unprofessional", of which 3.3% of tourists said that the staff was "very unfriendly and unprofessional". The mean value of the Human Resources factor group was only 3.25, in the middle group.

in the table of values

compare factors

other

(extra

Appendix 6.1). This shows that

limitations in skills and attitudes of staff at tourist sites.

In addition, the tourism industry lacks professional, experienced and trained managers for small hotels. Except for leading hotels, management generally lacks essential skills, including planning and supervision, business and marketing, revenue management, human resource management, accounting, and website management (cited by Vo Van Sen et al., 2018). Human resources working in the tourism sector are still spontaneous (An Giang Provincial People's Committee, 2016). The tourism workforce is less likely to stay long-term, as most hotels and travel companies in An Giang do not have career advancement programs for employees. For these reasons, employees tend to view the business as not their long-term career path (Vo Van Sen et al., 2018). Meeting the quantity and improving the quality of tourism human resources is an important practical requirement in the province's tourism development strategy, especially in the context that the entire VPC has a low rate of trained workers.

3.1.4. Technical facilities for tourism

Accommodation

During the period 2007 - 2017, the tourism accommodation system tended to increase in both quantity and type (Appendix 3.4.1). In 2017, the number of accommodation establishments included 89 establishments with 2735 rooms, an increase of 16 establishments and 1089 rooms compared to 2007. The number of star-rated hotels included 51 hotels with 1500 rooms, accounting for 42% of the total number of hotels and 54.8% of the total number of rooms in 2017 (Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 2018).

The type of accommodation has changed in the direction of increasing the number of ranked establishments. By 2017, the hotel system had 01 4-star hotel, 5 3-star hotels, 10 2-star hotels, 34 1-star hotels. Hoa Binh Hotel (4 stars) put into use has contributed to providing international quality accommodation, contributing to attracting international visitors. The resort complex in Victoria Chau Doc with 3-star standards has contributed to improving the capacity of accommodation establishments at key tourist destinations in Chau Doc city.

However, the province's accommodation facilities are still limited. Although there is an increasing trend, the number of accommodation facilities is still low compared to VPC, and room occupancy is limited.

Figure 3.3. Number of accommodation establishments and room occupancy rates in An Giang and other localities

VPC method, 2017

Room occupancy rate

An Giang only

(Source: TCDL, 2018)

reached 56% in 2017 in the context of

The low occupancy rate in both VPCs (Figure 3.4) leads to a situation where accommodation facilities cannot keep up with the growth rate of supply. The increase in the number of rooms while the occupancy rate is low causes waste in infrastructure management, leading to poor return on investment.

Food service establishments

Currently, An Giang has many food and beverage establishments to meet the needs of all classes of tourists. These types are integrated into the service system of hotels and restaurants, and tourism businesses. According to statistics, the whole province has 51 restaurants with a capacity of about 9,260 seats (An Giang Provincial People's Committee, 2018). These restaurants are invested and have many diverse specialties, with Asian - European style, attracting tourists. Notable are Hai Lua restaurant, restaurant

– Long Xuyen Hotel (Long Xuyen City), Victoria Hotel and Restaurant (Chau Doc City),... In general, the facilities initially meet the needs of domestic and foreign guests.

Entertainment and shopping facilities

To meet the needs of tourists, entertainment areas such as My Thoi Park, children's playground outside An Giang Museum, Gold Star amusement park and cinema... have been focused on construction. Sports facilities system

sports, entertainment,.. various types of functions such as

the tanks

swimming, yard

tennis, badminton, sauna, massage, karaoke, bar, cafe... In addition, shopping malls and supermarkets have appeared in cities such as Vincom Plaza, Nguyen Kim supermarket, Coop Mark supermarket... In 2017, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism granted a tourist service standard sign to Vincomplaza Shopping Center. Some small neighborhoods have been built into culinary neighborhoods such as Khoa Tri culinary street, Bo Ke night market... In addition, many tourism investment projects also focus on developing shopping, entertainment and recreation facilities for tourist spots and areas.

Tourist transportation service facility

The transportation system between An Giang and neighboring provinces is increasingly being improved in a modern direction. The expansion and upgrading of National Highways 80 and 91 facilitates easy access to tourist destinations. In addition, Cao Lanh Bridge and Vam Cong Bridge contribute to shortening travel time, facilitating tourism connections between An Giang and neighboring localities.

The transportation system is increasingly diverse. Currently, An Giang has 37 road transport enterprises (equivalent to 1,019 vehicles). The whole province has 15 bus stations, 2 rest stops (Than Tai and Thai Han), 12 bus routes (11 intra-provincial routes and 1 inter-provincial route) with a frequency of operation from 15 - 30 minutes/trip. In addition, the number of bus companies operating on the routes is increasingly diverse and the quality of the vehicles is improving.

are improved as Phuong Trang, Hung Cuong, To Chau, Thanh bus companies.

Grapefruit… has contributed to making travel and sightseeing between provinces in the region and between An Giang and Ho Chi Minh City increasingly convenient. However,

Traffic congestion during peak holiday months.

7, owner

day or days

In general, the province's tourism infrastructure has been invested in and improved. However, limitations in uniformity, convenience and modernity are factors affecting the effectiveness of tourism activities as well as the feelings of tourists.

Table 3.7. Tourists' evaluation of tourism infrastructure

Evaluate

Frequency	Ratio %
Very good	13	4.3
Good	105	35.0
Medium	120	40.0
Weak	61	20.3
Very weak	1	0.3
Total	300	100.0
Mean		3.23

(Source: Tourist Survey, 2017, n=300)

The survey results on infrastructure and tourism infrastructure showed that 60.6% of visitors rated infrastructure from average to very poor. The mean value of infrastructure and tourism infrastructure reached 3.23, within the average range (Appendix 5.1). This result reflects the fact that although infrastructure and tourism infrastructure have been focused on, they are still weak and not yet synchronized and convenient. Accommodation facilities are still limited in terms of quality accommodation services, while traffic factors, TTLL, ... are not yet complete. Combined with the survey results of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (2014) and Vo Van Sen et al. (2018), it shows that completing infrastructure in a synchronous and modern direction is a practical requirement in tourism development in An Giang province.

3.1.5. Tourism products, types and locations

a. Tourism products and types

The typical tourism product of An Giang province is spiritual tourism combined with ecological tourism and sightseeing.

Based on the survey results of tourists, spiritual tourism has great appeal to tourists, especially domestic tourists when coming to An Giang (Figure 3.4).

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