Quality of the Staff and Civil Servants Doing State Management Work on Tourism

people, when all work towards the common goal of effective tourism development of the homeland and the country.

Community tourism is a typical example of people's awareness of the role of tourism development. Local communities and specifically local people have a role in organizing, operating and building tourism products suitable for tourists based on cultural values, such as customs, intangible heritages as well as strengths of local natural landscapes within the framework of local laws and policies.

Thus, for current forms of community tourism, the role and image of the “owner” of the destination will be formed and honored by the community itself when directly or indirectly participating in welcoming and implementing tourism services. From a more general perspective, community tourism development has contributed to shifting the economic structure, creating jobs, improving the material and spiritual life of the people, thereby contributing to raising people’s awareness of the important role of tourism development.

1.1.6.3. Quality of staff and civil servants working in state management of tourism

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The state management staff plays an important role in the development of industries and sectors in particular and the whole country in general. In the current industrialization and modernization of the country, there is an increasing demand for higher quality human resources, including the staff and civil servants working in state management in general and the staff and civil servants working in state management of tourism in particular. If they - "servants of the people" have limited capacity, lack prestige and lack enthusiasm for their work, it will be very difficult to complete the assigned tasks. In response to that requirement, the 11th National Party Congress has clearly stated: "Building a clean and capable staff and civil servants to meet the requirements of the new situation".

In reality, the staff working in tourism management in localities has now been focused on both quantity and professional qualifications. However, in terms of professional qualifications, the majority of staff and civil servants, even though they have university or postgraduate degrees, in reality their major is not tourism management but usually a certain field in tourism development activities such as: hotels, restaurants, travel business, etc.

In training units with a major in State Management, tourism-related content is often included in the subject of State Management in Economics. Therefore, the depth of management in this field will have certain limitations. Meanwhile, training courses on State Management in Tourism organized by ministries and branches at the Central level are often limited, short in duration, and have limited participants; while at the local level, this work is not carried out.

Management in general is the art of getting things done through others; it is the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the work of members of the organization, using available resources to achieve the goals of the organization. The basic functions of management are planning, organizing, leading, directing, coordinating and controlling. Thus, having knowledge about hotels and restaurants or tourism business does not mean that you will become a good manager of these tourism activities.

In order for the staff and civil servants in charge of state management of tourism to be truly qualified, it is necessary to ensure that they have both management capacity and in-depth professional knowledge of tourism activities. Only then will the plans, schemes, programs, and strategies for tourism development be truly suitable to reality and create a driving force to promote the development of this economic sector. International cooperation in economic fields is becoming increasingly popular, and those working in state management of tourism need to further improve their foreign language skills.

1.1.6.4. Inter-sectoral and inter-regional coordination in tourism management

Resolution 08-NQ/TW dated January 16, 2017 of the Politburo on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector when identifying the main causes

leading to the limitations and weaknesses of the tourism industry, including the low efficiency of inter-sectoral and inter-regional coordination in tourism management. All levels and sectors have not yet truly considered tourism as an inter-sectoral and inter-regional economic sector. This is an important factor affecting the effectiveness of state management of tourism in Vietnam today.

Clause 3, Article 2 of the 2013 Constitution stipulates: “State power is unified, with division of labor, coordination, and control among state agencies in the exercise of legislative, executive, and judicial powers”. Thus, the content of coordination between localities and between sectors when performing management tasks in general is a constitutional principle, an important principle in the organization and operation of the current state apparatus in Vietnam. In which, sectoral management is the management of economic, cultural and social units and organizations with the same economic-technical structure or operating with the same purpose in order to make the activities of these organizations and units develop synchronously, smoothly, meeting the requirements of the State and society.

Regional economic linkage is actually the linkage between different economic entities in a region, based mainly on economic interests, in order to promote comparative advantages, creating higher economic competitiveness for the whole region. Forms of regional economic linkage can be in terms of economic space according to territory, industry chains, production organization. Policies and guidelines for regional development and regional linkage not only create momentum for economic development but also help disadvantaged regions perform well the functions of resource conservation, ecology, security, politics and society.

1.2. Practical basis of State management of tourism

1.2.1. Experience in state management of tourism in Da Lat City

Dalat is located at an average altitude of 1,500m above sea level, is a rare land in Southeast Asia with a temperate climate in the tropics, the weather is cool and mild all year round, not far from the population centers and large urban areas of the region and the area. Dalat has long been known as an ideal resort, an attractive eco-tourism destination with many beautiful landscapes.

Every year, Da Lat welcomes millions of tourists to visit, relax and enjoy the fresh air, admiring the charming splendor of the city of thousands of flowers.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lam Dong province, from 2005 (the first year of the Dalat Flower Festival) to now, the number of domestic and foreign tourists coming to Dalat for sightseeing and relaxation has continuously increased (the following year is always higher than the previous year). Specifically, in 2005: 1.6 million; in 2006: 1.8 million; in 2007: 2.2 million; in 2008: 2.3 million; in 2009:

2.5 million arrivals; 2010: 3.1 million arrivals…; 2016: 5.4 million arrivals; 2017: 6 million arrivals; 2018: 6.5 million arrivals and in the first 6 months of 2019, Da Lat welcomed 3,735 thousand arrivals.

Recognizing the position and importance of tourism for local socio-economic development, in addition to implementing central planning programs and projects such as: Decision 1528/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on implementing specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Da Lat city and surrounding areas of Lam Dong province in the period of 2016 - 2020, with a vision to 2030; Resolution 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo "On developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector"..., Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee issued Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU "On developing tourism and services in the period of 2011 - 2015" and Resolution No. 07-NQ/TU on developing high-quality tourism in the period of 2016 - 2020, with a vision to 2025 in Lam Dong province. The consistent ideology in the resolutions of the Provincial Party Committee identifies "Tourism as the driving economic sector of local socio-economic development" in the new period.

With the attention and direction of the Party Committee, the management and administration of the government, the advisory role of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the coordination of all levels and sectors over the past years, there has been a boom in tourism activities, investment linkages, and tourism and trade promotion. Lam Dong has connected the "Triangle" cooperation program to develop tourism in Lam Dong - Binh Thuan - Ho Chi Minh City; Tourism development cooperation with the provinces: Lam Dong - Hanoi - Dak Lak - Gia Lai; Program

Conducting a survey and signing a cooperation agreement on tourism development between Lam Dong and Dong Nai; signing an international agreement between Lam Dong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Jeju Olle Management Board - Korea on tourism development; promoting tourism and trade with countries: Korea, Japan, Laos...

The expansion of open policies to attract businesses to invest in tourism development in the province has brought about results. Up to now, Lam Dong has attracted 112 tourism investment projects with a total registered capital of VND 50,000 billion; of which, 31 projects have been put into operation. Most of the investment projects exploit and develop eco-tourism, agricultural tourism, picnics, sightseeing, and resorts. In particular, in Da Lat, there are currently 02 national tourist areas (KDL) that have been and are being invested in and exploited, which will open up great prospects for the tourism development of this foggy city; that is Tuyen Lam Lake Tourist Area and Dan Kia - Suoi Vang Tourist Area. Da Lat City has just been admitted as a member of the Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia - Pacific Cities (TPO); this is an extremely favorable condition and opportunity to develop and promote Da Lat tourism in the near future...

To strengthen state management of tourism, Lam Dong province has focused on exploiting potential competitive advantages; focusing on investment policies for tourism development as a major policy, a priority in Lam Dong's socio-economic development strategy. Tourism management agencies have directed businesses to invest in upgrading and adding new products and services, improving service quality, paying attention to environmental sanitation, fire prevention, and implementing food hygiene and safety; developing promotional programs, publicly posting prices of items and selling at the listed prices; serving tourists with a warm and friendly attitude...

The locality pays special attention to the survey, evaluation and addition of new tourism types, models and tourism products, which are typical of Da Lat. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has conducted new and re-evaluation of 53 tourist accommodation establishments in the area; reviewed and corrected the errors of tourist accommodation establishments,

especially for the home stay type (recently developed); regularly coordinate with inter-sectoral inspections of businesses operating in the adventure sports tourism type; up to now, the shortcomings and inadequacies have been basically overcome, ensuring safety for tourists; in general, the quantity and quality of services for tourists are increasingly improved. Currently in Da Lat city, the accommodation system has been built and upgraded, with 1,590 tourist accommodation establishments, with 19,486 rooms; of which, there are 438 hotels from 1 to 5 stars with 11,501 rooms; there are 32 high-class hotels from 3 to 5 stars with 3,127 rooms...

The whole province has 64 travel and tourism transportation businesses; of which, there are 26 international travel businesses; there are 35 tourist areas and attractions invested and exploited for business along with 60 free attractions (natural landscapes, architectural works, religious establishments, craft villages, archeology...) and 30 agricultural tourism spots serving the needs of tourists for sightseeing and experience, creating diversity and richness to build tours and tourist routes in Da Lat - Lam Dong.

In order for Da Lat tourism to become a "dynamic economic sector", an attractive, safe and sustainable destination, in addition to promoting its potential and competitive advantages, the locality needs to thoroughly resolve current difficulties and shortcomings; in which, it is necessary to urgently complete urban planning, complete traffic infrastructure and rectify negative behaviors, bad images of the people and tourists. (Duong Thanh Hong, 2019).

1.2.2. Experience in state management of tourism in Ha Long City

Ha Long is a famous tourist destination not only domestically but also worldwide, tourists coming to Ha Long are overwhelmed by the natural beauty of Ha Long Bay - World Natural Heritage and many other attractive attractions. To develop Ha Long into an international-class tourist destination, it is necessary to develop synchronously the constituent elements of Ha Long tourist destination, including tourist attractions, transportation, accommodation, facilities and support services, and additional activities.

The constituent elements of Ha Long tourist destination include:

Tourist attractions: Ha Long is a tourist destination that converges a variety of attractions including natural resources, man-made structures and local events. Every year, Ha Long Bay welcomes millions of domestic and foreign visitors. It can be said that Ha Long Bay is the main attraction of Ha Long, but besides that, other attractive destinations in Ha Long are also of great interest to tourists such as Tuan Chau international tourist area with many continuous activities to serve guests, the romantic and poetic Bai Tho mountain attracts a large number of visitors. Starting in 2007, up to now, Ha Long Carnaval has become a tourism brand of Quang Ninh with many innovations and creativity. In addition, Ha Long also has other attractive destinations such as Cai Lan port, coal mine, ... that can be put into tourism development.

Transportation in Ha Long: The relatively synchronous transportation network, running throughout the province from Dong Trieu to Mong Cai international border gate, passing through Ha Long destination, helps tourists to reach Ha Long by many types of transportation such as cars, ships, trains, helicopters, seaplanes... Ha Long also has a boat system for tourists to visit and stay overnight on the bay, this is a type of tourism that is very popular with tourists. To meet the increasing needs of tourists, many tourist transport businesses have boldly innovated their means of transport, investing in many passenger ships with large tonnage, luxurious appearance, and high safety coefficient. In particular, in the past 5 years, Ha Long Bay has seen more and more professionally invested overnight cruises such as Paradise Luxury, Emeraude Classic Cruise, Bhaya Classic Cruises, Au Co... Quang Ninh is also implementing a project to build an international standard airport in Van Don, promising that in the near future the number of visitors to Ha Long by air will increase significantly.

Accommodation and food facilities system in Ha Long: According to statistics, currently in Quang Ninh province there are nearly 1,000 tourist accommodation facilities.

tourism, including 99 hotels from 1 to 5 stars. The system of 2 to 4 star hotels is mostly concentrated in Ha Long City, the tourist center of the province. Up to now, Ha Long City has about 60 hotels ranked from 2 to 4 stars. In recent years, investors have focused mainly on high-end hotels targeting the high-quality customer market. Many tourism businesses have boldly invested in new construction, upgrading technical facilities, renovating equipment as well as training to improve the professional skills and foreign languages of the management team and service staff to attract customers, meeting the requirements of the tourism market. In Ha Long, there are many restaurants from popular, seafood specialties to luxurious European and Asian restaurants. High-end restaurants are mainly concentrated around Bai Chay, Hon Gai and in large hotels. Tourists have many options for places to enjoy, such as on cruise ships visiting the bay, at floating houses, in restaurants, eateries, or at the homes of friends and relatives...

Additional activities in Ha Long: Additional activities in Ha Long Bay are quite diverse. In addition to the tourist boat activities to pick up and drop off visitors, other types of tourism services are also quite developed such as: cave tours, entertainment, including kayaking, speedboats, banana boat rides, parasailing, paragliding... Along with the activity of rowing bamboo boats to take visitors around the bay, people also participate in collecting trash and protecting the bay environment. According to statistics, on average, about 20,000 visitors use this service each month, contributing to creating jobs and increasing income for the local community. In addition, there are many other services such as souvenir sales, visiting pearl farming villages on the bay... It can be said that the elements that make up the Ha Long destination have developed strongly in recent times, however, the development of these elements still faces some difficulties such as: attractive tourist spots in Ha Long have not yet promoted their professionalism and ability to attract visitors; transportation in Ha Long is not really commensurate with its potential and position...

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