Situation of Spending on Tourism Promotion Activities

Some websites specializing in tourism such as tripadvisor.com; booking.com;…

Communication on a number of other online information channels also receives investment attention.

Table 2.17. Spending on tourism promotion activities

Thua Thien Hue province, period 2012 - 2017

Tasks and activities in 2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
- Organize a ceremony to welcome international visitors Hue first by Air 20 at Phu Bai International Airport	20	25	25	25	35
- Participate in tourism events 700	750	750	850	850	800
- Post a special article in Magazine 150	150	150	200	200	100
- Build and operate a website promoting Thua Thien Hue tourism in 2 languages (English and Vietnamese)		100	100	200	150
- Promote the destination on 200	250	300	350	500	500
- Participate in response activities 60	65	65	70	70	150
- Welcome and organize Famtrip groups, 100	120	120	135	150	200
- Coordinate with General Department of Tourism to send the seal Products participating in some 100 fairs foreign	100	100	100	100	180
- Publish DL event annually 50	80	80	100	100	130
- Participate in 650 international fairs and conferences	700	720	800	900	950
- Carry out other events 200	220	350	400	500	600
Total: 2380	2605	2890	3180	3595	3,765

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Unit: Million VND

water

media, press

National Tourism Year Prestrip.

Source: Thua Thien Hue Department of Tourism

Thua Thien Hue is striving to have a total of 2.5 million international tourists by 2020. To achieve that goal, in the coming time, Thua Thien Hue will continue to promote tourism promotion, targeting key markets, focusing on attracting high-spending tourist markets with more effective promotion tools and forms. Expanding joint ventures and partnerships with domestic and foreign partners, actively supporting businesses in organizing market development activities, linking tours, routes and tourism products... contributing to making tourism truly a spearhead economic sector and accounting for an increasingly high proportion in the province's GDP structure.

Table 2.18. Survey results of civil servants on management activities

promote tourism in Thua Thien Hue province

Point

Review content

The tourism industry has developed a long-term strategy for tourism promotion activities in the province. Coordinating the implementation of promotion activities

3.15

Evaluate

Proposed but not yet issued Maintained and increased

advertising over the years is effective 3.35

Tourism promotion work abroad is carried out.

strong but at a level

moderate

reasonable, effective

3.3 Only partially effective

Source: Author's investigation and survey

2.3.6. Current status of tourism business management in Thua Thien Hue province

Thien Hue

In order to continue improving the quality of tourism activities, aiming to make tourism a key economic sector of the province, from the beginning of the year, the Department of Tourism has issued a document directing tourism businesses to strengthen the management of business activities, ensure security and order, organize entertainment activities for guests and make statistical reports on tourism business activities according to the provisions of law.

The inspection and examination of tourism activities in the province is maintained regularly. The Department of Tourism in coordination with the PA81 Department of the Provincial Police, the Department of Transport Inspectorate, the Department of Health, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment conduct inspections of organizations and individuals operating tourism and providing tourism services in the whole province.

2.3.6.1 On management of travel business activities and tourist transportation services

Implementing the annual inspection and examination plan approved by the Department's leaders, the Department's Inspectorate has inspected travel agencies in the province; passenger reception activities and the cruise tourism business environment at Chan May port. Coordinated with functional units to inspect transportation service businesses such as dragon boat systems serving tourists and Hue singing services on the Huong River, resolutely requiring boat businesses to temporarily suspend operations if the service does not meet standards, does not ensure safety and the service staff has not been trained in tourism.

During the period of 2012-2017, performing the management and licensing functions, the Department of Tourism has appraised the application files for granting international travel business licenses to 19 international travel businesses, which has created a driving force to encourage tourism development in Thua Thien Hue province, contributing to increasing the number of international tourists to Vietnam in general and Thua Thien Hue province in particular.

In order to manage tourism business activities, especially the management of welcoming cruise ship tourists at Chan May port, the Provincial People's Committee requested the Department of Tourism to coordinate with the Chan May Lang Co Economic Management Board to study, organize, and rearrange services and welcoming cruise ship tourists at Chan May port. However, this activity has shown some shortcomings and inadequacies that affect the quality of tourist services and do not promote economic efficiency.

Target	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Number of ships arriving at port
True Spear 37 (number of flights)		27	30	50	46	47
Total Visitors 40,874		29,199	37,381	75,590	78,678	127,958
- Cruise passengers to Hue 34,374		28,429	33,981	41,475	42,372	69,097
- Cruise passengers to Da Nang 6,500		800	3,400	34,016	35,405	58,861
Da Nang, Hoi An

Table 2.19. Situation of receiving cruise ship tourists at Chan May port, period 2012 - 2017

number of visitors)

Source: Thua Thien Hue Department of Tourism

Through table 2.19, it can be seen that in the period of 2012-2017, the number of tourists welcomed by sea has tended to increase. In 2012, there were 37 cruises with 40,874 passengers, and by 2017, there were 127,958 passengers. This shows that the province has paid attention to welcoming cruise tourists, and the cooperation with travel agencies (Tan Hong Company, SaigonTourist) to exploit cruise tourists has been focused on, and major cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean, Silversea Cruises, Voyager of The Seas... have brought tourists to Chan May port. In addition, communication and promotion activities, conferences on cruise tourism development have been organized and promoted.

Currently, on average, Chan May port welcomes more than 40 cruise ships each year. Faced with this situation, the Provincial People's Committee has assigned the Department of Tourism to coordinate with relevant agencies to develop regulations for welcoming cruise ship tourists to Chan May port, and at the same time work with Chan May port to implement specific policies and infrastructure to effectively manage the above activities, ensuring security, safety and benefits for tourists.

2.3.6.2 On management of accommodation business activities and other services

In the context of increasing competition to attract visitors among major tourist centers in the country as it is today, Thua Thien Hue tourism needs to be

Strengthen management, focus on controlling security and order, tourist safety, environmental sanitation, food safety, prices, service quality... to ensure that tourists coming to Thua Thien Hue for sightseeing and vacation are safe, comfortable, and have an impression of tourist destinations.

2012 target	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
- Standard restaurant (facility)	1	1		1	1
- Shopping facility (facility)		1	1		1
- Appraisal of application for certificate 2	1	1	2	6	7
- Coordinate hotel appraisal 9	11	7	10	12	09
- 2-star recognition (base) 2	5	11	3	1	5
- 1 star recognition (base) 3	15	8	8	2	1

Table 2.20. Appraisal and licensing of accommodation and service businesses in the period 2012 - 2017

international travel permit

3-5 stars (base)

Source: Thua Thien Hue Department of Tourism

During the period 2012-2017, the Department of Tourism has assessed and recognized 01 new 5-star hotel, 04 4-star hotels, 27 2-star hotels, 37 1-star hotels and recognized 07 food and beverage service establishments and souvenir shops that meet the standards for serving tourists. This shows that the tourism facilities are increasingly improved, the services are standardized and the professional quality in the service style basically meets the increasing needs of tourists.

Besides, the management of spontaneous tourism service business activities such as entertainment, adventure sports, seafood trading, boating, kayaking... still faces many difficulties.

Table 2.21. Survey results of civil servants on management work

Tourism Business Activities of Thua Thien Hue Province

Point

Review content

The industry has issued documents to facilitate

beneficial for state management of tourism

The coordination between departments in managing tourism businesses is currently effective. The unit has applied information technology to tourism management.

3.35

3.4

3.45

Evaluate

There is interest but at a normal level. Coordination is relatively good.

Has average application

Source: Author's investigation and survey

2.3.7. Regional and international cooperation in the field of tourism in Thua Thien Hue province

Thien Hue

To promote tourism development, in recent years, the province has paid attention to inter-regional linkage activities and tourism development cooperation. Along with promoting its existing internal resources, Thua Thien Hue province has strengthened international cooperation and expanded foreign relations with countries around the world to develop tourist markets. This will be an important foundation for building Thua Thien Hue to strive to become a tourism center of the country, contributing to making tourism truly a spearhead economic sector.

- Regarding domestic cooperation:

+ Effectively implement the "Three localities, one destination" linkage plan of Thua Thien Hue - Da Nang - Quang Nam in cooperation in tourism development and foreign promotion; sign a cooperation agreement to support tourism development of 4 localities: Hanoi - Quang Nam - Da Nang - Thua Thien Hue; link and cooperate in tourism development in Lam Dong

- Quang Nam - Da Nang - Thua Thien Hue to maintain and exploit the Hue - Da Lat flight route and vice versa; Cooperate to develop tourism in the three provinces of Binh - Tri - Thien.

+ Cooperate with Vietnam Railway Transport Industry, Vietnam Airlines to support tourism development in Thua Thien Hue province. Thereby, build many tourism stimulus programs to attract tourists from travel companies across the country to Hue.

- On international cooperation:

+ Through working programs with diplomatic delegations from Japan and Thailand, the Department of Tourism has cooperated with Kyoto and Gifu provinces (Japan) on tourism development and promotion with a number of contents: exchanging Farmtrips and Press trips to introduce destination tourism, supporting training and developing tourism human resources, supporting each other in promoting and advertising destination tourism to each other.

+ The Department of Tourism also cooperates with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Bangkok City Government, Thai - Vietnamese Business Association, Udon Thani Provincial Government, Chiangmai - Thailand Tourism Association to help businesses in the Central provinces, especially the three localities of Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, have the opportunity to survey, cooperate in exploiting tourism routes and meet, work, learn, exchange information, sign cooperation agreements to promote the exploitation, development of tours, routes and enhance business cooperation, two-way exchange.

To promote the province's potential and opportunities and to learn and exchange experiences in the field of investment promotion, the province has organized and participated in many domestic and foreign investment promotion seminars, contributing to the signing of many Memorandums of Understanding and investment cooperation with organizations and investors as well as creating conditions for enterprises in the province to learn, sign and cooperate with foreign enterprises in many fields. In 2016, Thua Thien Hue Province held a conference on investment promotion and tourism development in Thua Thien with more than 500 delegates representing ministries, central branches and enterprises, domestic and foreign investors also attended. The conference is a forum to gather and attract domestic and foreign organizations, businesses and investors to meet and dialogue with the government and businesses of Thua Thien Hue province to seek opportunities for investment and business cooperation in the province, together providing orientations and solutions for tourism development in Thua Thien Hue province to effectively exploit the potential and strengths of tourism. The government of Thua Thien Hue province commits to investors to create an open, favorable and effective investment environment; always ready to meet and contact businesses and investors to listen, discuss and remove difficulties as well as direct handling.

timely to support investors in the investment process in TT.Hue province. In addition, to attract and seek investors, TT.Hue province has also developed preferential policies and improved the business environment. At the conference, 16 investment certificates with a total investment of 7,744.5 billion VND were granted and 6 cooperation agreements with partners and investors were signed.

The socio-economic development period in recent times has taken place in a context of greater difficulties and challenges than forecast. In that situation, despite many efforts, the investment attraction results of Thua Thien Hue province have also been affected. However, it was also during this period that many new features in investment attraction began to take shape, creating favorable premises for the following years. Some typical projects include: Hue - Bangkok flight route opening project, Port No. 1 upgrade project - Chan May Port (to welcome the world's largest cruise ships of Royal Caribbean Cruises); Port No. 3 construction project - Chan May Port; 5-star hotel and commercial complex project of Vingroup, Nguyen Kim, Lang Co International Resort.

Table 2.22. Tourism investment situation in Thua Thien Hue province in the period 2012 - 2017

Quantity		Initial capital	Real capital
	(project number)	private	presently
- Chan May Lang Co Economic Zone	19	34,151	6,850
The project has come into operation.	5	14,500	6.235
Project under construction	3	584	295
The project is undergoing investment procedures.	3	11,236	142
Project is slow to implement	7	7,593	186
Project stopped	1	240	123
- Location outside Economic Zone	29	6,300	1,544
The project has come into operation.	9	680	953
Project under construction	18	5,400	600

Unit: Billion VND

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