Solutions to Strengthen State Management of Tourism in Lang Son Province

The tip of the iceberg has not yet been discovered and dealt with due to the thin force and low penalties, so there are many violations of regulations in tourism business such as not having an illegal business license, not declaring business, not posting prices or posting prices in foreign currency.

2.4.3 Causes of limitations and shortcomings

- Objective reasons

+ Our country's economy is not highly developed, the level of science and technology is still limited. This is a particularly big challenge for the State's management and operation of the economy in general and tourism in particular in the context of international economic integration.

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+ Mechanisms, policies and laws related to socio-economic development in general and tourism economic development in particular are not synchronous and inconsistent; the issuance of documents guiding the implementation of the Law on Tourism is slow and untimely, causing difficulties for state management activities on tourism economy in localities. On the other hand, tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, interdisciplinary, inter-regional and highly socialized; state management in the field of tourism is related to many different sectors, levels and fields.

- Subjective causes

+ Some Party committees and authorities in the province have not attached importance and paid due attention to the State management of tourism economy in the area. Awareness of the position, role and importance of tourism in the socio-economic development of the province is still limited, so many places and units in the province still have the mindset of waiting and relying; not being proactive and creative, not paying attention to creating a favorable environment for tourism development, not focusing on mobilizing and calling on economic sectors to participate in tourism development.

+ The content, form and method of propaganda, dissemination and education of tourism policies and laws for the local community are still poor, monotonous and not suitable to the actual conditions in the province... There are no drastic and thorough measures to implement the work contents and detailed plans; Coordination in management and organization of tourism planning implementation among relevant agencies, departments and branches in the province is not tight.

+ State capital for investment and support for investment in tourism infrastructure and technical facilities is still low, while the allocation is not concentrated, leading to a situation of scattered and small-scale investment, and investment projects being behind schedule. Along with the lack of determination in compensation and site clearance for investment projects and the shortcomings in administrative procedures for business in general and tourism activities in particular, have been negatively affecting the investment attraction environment of the province, especially foreign direct investment (FDI).

+ The state management apparatus for tourism has changed due to many mergers and separations, lacking stability, so it does not ensure continuity in management and high management effectiveness, especially the state management apparatus for tourism at the district and city levels. The authority and responsibility of all levels and sectors in concretizing the State's mechanisms and policies on tourism development in specific local conditions as well as in promulgating mechanisms and policies under their authority and in guiding and organizing the implementation of those mechanisms and policies have not been clarified. The coordination in tourism management between the functional agencies of the province is not really tight while the responsibilities of sectors, levels and communities in managing tourism activities at tourist areas and spots have not been clearly defined. The qualifications of the staff in the tourism sector of the province still have many shortcomings. The management, use, planning and training of tourism management staff in the province, especially the next generation of staff, although receiving attention, is not regular. In addition, salary policies, incentive policies and talent attraction policies are slow to be issued or not focused on in implementation.

+ The work of creating tourism cooperation and cooperation and building a tourism information system has not received due investment from authorities at all levels. Tourism promotion and advertising is not professional; tourism propaganda and advertising products are still poor and monotonous; promotion forms are not attractive to tourists...

+ Training and development of tourism human resources is still patchy and unsystematic. The relationship between tourism vocational training institutions and tourism businesses and tourism services in human resource development is not closely linked.

+ The scope of inspection and examination of tourism businesses and tourism service establishments has not been clearly defined. The form and procedure for conducting inspection and examination still show limitations, there is no smooth coordination between relevant State management agencies, causing overlap and inconvenience to businesses, organizations and individuals.

Chapter 2 Conclusion

Thus, through the analysis and assessment of the successes and limitations, opportunities and challenges in state management of tourism in Lang Son province, we see that: In recent years, Lang Son has made many advances in state management of tourism, from macro issues such as orientation, planning and implementation of planning, mechanisms and policies to attract investment capital to market management, international and domestic tourist flows, business establishments and enterprises, tourism human resources, etc. Thereby creating favorable conditions and environments for the province's tourism industry to develop strongly.

However, besides that, just like the overall picture of the tourism industry of the whole country, there are also mixed bright and dark aspects, the current state management of tourism in Lang Son province also has limitations and inadequacies.

The results of tourism activities in Lang Son province in the period of 2012-2018 have made many improvements, the number of tourists increased every year, the quality of tourism activities has been improved, tourism products have developed, contributing to the socio-economic development of the province. However, Lang Son tourism still has limitations such as lack of investment focus, product development orientation, organizational capacity, tourism development is not commensurate with the potential and advantages of the province.

That situation requires more effective solutions to eliminate the forces that are preventing Lang Son tourism from rising to match its potential and stature.

CHAPTER 3 SOLUTIONS TO STRENGTHEN STATE MANAGEMENT OF TOURISM IN LANG SON PROVINCE

3.1 Analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of Lang Son tourism from now to 2030

From the analysis of the tourism development context in the new period, it can be seen that Lang Son tourism from now until 2030 will develop with intertwined strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges, as follows:

3.1.1 Strengths

- Lang Son has a favorable location to link regions for tourism development: Located at the northeastern gateway of Hanoi capital and Vietnam tourism; On the Hanoi economic corridor

- Lang Son - Nanning (China); Near major tourist centers such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong.

- Lang Son has important traffic routes such as National Highways 1A, 1B, 4A, 4B, North-South Expressway, international railway, etc. This is an extremely important premise to promote exchanges between Lang Son and the provinces of the Red River Delta, the Northern Midlands and Mountains, the whole country and international economic relations.

- Having a land border with China of more than 250 km with Huu Nghi international road border gate, Dong Dang railway border gate and many other main border gates is a strength for foreign economic development, including tourism.

- Has relatively diverse tourism resources: Has strengths in cultural tourism with cultural characteristics of ethnic groups in the Northeastern mountainous region of Vietnam, in which the Tay and Nung cultures stand out. Natural tourism resources stand out with the famous landscape of the mountains and forests of "Lang land", which has long been an attractive destination for tourists.

- Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy aims to develop Mau Son into a national tourist area as a driving force for tourism development for the entire province and the northeastern mountainous region of Vietnam.

- Lang Son province's tourism industry receives attention and direction from provincial leaders at all levels, and support and assistance from central ministries and branches.

- Awareness of tourism among all classes of people is increasingly improved, awareness of protecting resources and tourism environment is gradually enhanced. People's living standards are getting higher and higher, the demand for tourism is increasing. [15]

3.1.2 Weaknesses

- As a mountainous and border province, the quality of the infrastructure system has not yet met the requirements, especially the transportation system to tourist resource points.

- The starting point for tourism is still low, there are no specific and unique tourism products to attract tourists and build a tourism brand for the province. There is a lack of high-quality tourism products suitable for specialized market segments. Tourism products are still duplicated, poor, and lack of connectivity. The quality of tourism human resources is still limited.

- Technical facilities serving tourism (hotels, restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues...) are still poor.

- Tourism resources and technical facilities serving tourism development are being degraded and the environment is polluted (especially concentrated industrial areas...).

- The investment environment is not attractive, there is a lack of strategic investors to invest in large projects on tourism development.

- The population is mainly ethnic minorities, living on agriculture, the economic scale is still small, the average income per capita is low (Total product in the area per capita is 38.4 million VND, compared to the national average of 48 million VND/person); tourism demand and awareness have improved but are still inadequate.

- The quality of tourism human resources is still low, not meeting the requirements of industry development in the trend of integration and the process of industrialization and modernization. [15]

3.1.3 Opportunities

- The demand for tourism in the world is increasing, with a trend towards Asia, the Pacific including Southeast Asia. Vietnam is emerging in the region as an attractive new destination.

- Tourists tend to look for new, unique products, including community tourism to experience rural agriculture and spiritual tourism.

The 4.0 technology revolution will create opportunities for Vietnamese tourism in general and local tourism in particular to develop in a modern and professional direction.

Favorable tourism environment, Vietnam is voted as a safe and friendly destination. Tourism receives attention from the Party, the State, the consensus of the community is shown in the industry development policies and related support policies, tourism awareness, ...

- The development of related industries such as transportation, post and telecommunications, information technology... creates the foundation for tourism development, in which the opening of the North-South expressway from Hanoi to Lang Son is a great opportunity for the socio-economic development of the province, including tourism.

- The coordination and linkage in tourism development between sectors and regions is gradually taking shape and developing effectively.

3.1.4 Challenges

- Vietnam tourism, including Lang Son tourism, develops in an environment of many unpredictable fluctuations in economics, politics, security, climate, epidemics... on a global scale, affecting the source market.

- International competition is increasingly fierce; while the country's economic development level and people's living standards are generally low compared to many countries in the region... reducing the competitiveness of Vietnamese tourism in the international tourism market.

- The impact of climate change is increasingly evident. Lang Son is a mountainous province in the Northeast, an area affected by adverse weather factors such as floods and landslides.

- ASEAN community integration and challenges and risks of losing high-quality human resources.

- The tourism environment is at risk of being affected by civil activities and other economic sectors.

- The world's tourism demand has changed a lot, moving towards new values, accordingly, environmental quality has become an important factor constituting the value of tourism enjoyment. Meanwhile, ensuring high environmental quality is always a challenge for the Vietnamese tourism industry in general and Lang Son tourism in particular.

3.2 Viewpoints and orientations for development and implementation of State management of tourism until 2020, vision to 2030

3.2.1 Development perspective

Based on the assessment of the potential and current status of tourism development in Lang Son province in the period of 2012 - 2018 and the identification of opportunities, advantages, difficulties and challenges for the development of Lang Son province to 2020, with a vision to 2030; based on the viewpoints on tourism development in Vietnam and the Northern Midlands and Mountains region to 2020, with a vision to 2030 as well as the viewpoints on tourism development in Lang Son province that have been proposed previously, the adjustment of tourism development in Lang Son province to 2020, with a vision to 2030 is based on the following viewpoint system:

1. Developing Lang Son tourism is consistent with the Strategy and master plan for Vietnam tourism development; the Northern midland and mountainous region; the master plan for socio-economic development and related economic sectors of the province.

2. Developing Lang Son tourism is truly an important, inter-sectoral, inter-regional, focused, and effective comprehensive service economic sector to promote economic restructuring, create conditions to promote the development of other economic sectors, contribute to the successful implementation of the province's socio-economic goals, and bring Lang Son tourism to a new development position.

3. Developing Lang Son tourism in close connection with tourism in the provinces in the Northern Midlands and Mountains (especially the Northeastern mountainous provinces); the Red River Delta and the Northeastern coastal region, with major tourist centers such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, especially the capital Hanoi... to promote the advantages of tourism location as well as the typical values of tourism products.

4. Maintain the development of spiritual tourism to increase domestic tourist attraction; Promote the development of sightseeing and cultural experience tourism; Expand the development

Weekend tourism, border tourism, eco-tourism, farms, rural agriculture, entertainment... to diversify tourism products and contribute to attracting international tourists.

5. Tourism development is based on promoting internal strength and the combined strength of industries and economic sectors; promoting socialization, mobilizing all investment resources for tourism development; maximizing potential and strengths for tourism development.

6. Developing tourism associated with preserving and promoting cultural and historical values, ecological and environmental landscape values, and ensuring social order and security.

3.2.2 Orientation for tourism development in Lang Son to 2020, vision to 2030

Lang Son province has determined that developing tourism economy contributes to bringing positive effects on economy, culture, society, national security and environment.

In terms of economy: Developing tourism economy contributes to shifting economic structure, increasing income, improving people's lives, especially in rural, remote and isolated areas, contributing to hunger eradication and poverty reduction; making Lang Son province tourism one of the key tourist areas of the northern mountainous provinces;

Regarding socio-culture and environment: Developing tourism economy contributes to improving people's knowledge, preserving and promoting the value of landscapes, historical relics and the environment of the region;

Regarding security and defense: Developing tourism economy with the role of strengthening international cooperation, developing solidarity, friendship and brotherhood among the peoples between Vietnam and China who share a common border, contributing to maintaining border security, territorial integrity; political stability and ensuring order and social safety in the region.

The goal of provincial tourism development is also clearly defined :

+ Strive to welcome 3 million 25 thousand visitors in 2020; welcome 6 million 265 thousand visitors in 2030;

+ Income from tourism: in 2020 it will reach 132.6 million USD, tourism GDP will reach 5.5 million USD (accounting for 6.85% of the province's GDP); in 2030 it will reach more than 381 million USD, tourism GDP will reach

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