Tourist Reviews For Ben Tre Tourism

Promote local tourism image to attract tourists and investors in tourism of the province.

In recent years, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ben Tre has had many promotion programs and participated in many tourism events to introduce and promote the image of Ben Tre tourism, bringing many positive results such as: launching the contest "Ben Tre Tourism Logo and Slogan Creation Contest" from April to August 2018; "Journey on the Island" of Ben Tre Television; Ben Tre culinary program by Martin Yan to promote to the world; "Non nuoc lang du" of HTV7, ...

- Linking and cooperating to develop tourism: is a necessary need of destinations or localities, each locality has its own strengths and a number of local specific tourism products and services. Through linking and cooperating, the market and service supply chain will be expanded, and learning and exchanging experiences will be learned. Besides, it is also a channel to call for investors to enter limited local fields. Some activities such as the delegation of experts from the Danube Delta Institute - Romania visited and exchanged cooperation in November 2017, Organizing the 2nd Ben Tre Province Culture - Tourism Week - 2017 and the Tourism - Cuisine and Trade Fair in August 2017, ...

- Training and development of labor resources: plays a very important role in the development of the province. Labor resources include both officials and employees of state agencies and workers in tourism enterprises.

- Participation of local residents in tourism business activities: with appropriate tourism development policies, the participation of local residents is quite active and diverse. In addition to participating in direct labor in tourism companies, people are also direct service providers such as homestay services, selling traditional products, etc.

Through the results of Ben Tre's tourism activities, agencies at all levels of Ben Tre province have been very active and achieved high results in tourism activities in terms of building strategies, regional planning, products, building tourism images, community participation, etc., which are the foundation for tourism development in Ben Tre province.

3.3. Tourist reviews of Ben Tre tourism

In the study, the average value on a 5-point scale of tourists' evaluation of 07 groups of factors about Ben Tre tourism is used, using statistical methods to describe the average value. For convenience of consideration, in the study, the standard convention of the evaluation scale is as follows:

- Average score below 3: Poor level

- Average score from 3 to below 3.5: Average level

- Average score from 3.5 to 4: Good level

- Average score greater than 4: Good level

3.3.1. Sample information

The results of the analysis of sample information show that there are 500 tourists, including 253 domestic tourists and 247 international tourists (Appendix 9).

 Regarding gender, out of 500 respondents, 212 were male, accounting for 42.4%, and 288 were female, accounting for 57.6%.

 In terms of age, there are 76 people aged 18-27 accounting for 15.2%, 156 people aged 28-38 accounting for 31.2%, 162 people aged 39-49 accounting for 32.4% and 106 people aged 50-60 accounting for 21.2%.

 Regarding destination, domestic visitors mainly come from Ho Chi Minh City, the West and Southeast regions and the rest are from the Central and North regions. International visitors mainly come from China, Taiwan, Japan and other regions (see Appendix 14).

 Regarding the number of visits, the first visit accounted for 34.4%, 2-3 visits accounted for 43.2,6%, 4-5 visits accounted for 15.8% and 6 or more visits accounted for 7.6%.

 Will come back, tourists said will come back is 61.4%, not come back is 38.6.

 Regarding the purpose of the trip, sightseeing is the highest at 36.8%, vacation: 28.4%, visit: 18.4%, medical treatment: 6.4%, business: 3.4% and other types: 6.6%.

3.3.2. Local brand

Attraction

Table 3.12. Tourists' assessment of attractiveness

Fight

Price variation

Guest in	International guests
	shared	water	economy
Good weather for tourism	3.90	4.06	3.74
Diverse terrain	3.64	3.87	3.41
Beautiful natural scenery	3.73	3.9	3.55
Attractive natural environment	3.58	3.85	3.3
Rich flora and fauna	3.68	3.97	3.38
Many cultural and historical relics	3.88	4.11	3.64
Has a beautiful beach	3.77	3.94	3.58
Rich traditional art	3.61	3.84	3.38
Diverse traditional festivals	3.57	3.71	3.43
Rich cuisine	4.11	4.25	3.96
General assessment	3.74	3.95	3.53

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Source: Author's survey analysis results 2016 (appendix 10, 12)

According to the evaluation results shown in Table 3.12, tourists rated the attractiveness of Ben Tre tourism at a fairly good level of 3.74. Considering the natural conditions, Ben Tre has large rivers that form sandbanks, forests along the coast, rich cuisine, etc., which have advantages for developing ecological and river tourism. In particular, the most highly rated factor is cuisine, which is also an advantage of Ben Tre with a freshwater, brackish, and salty water environment that is home to many species, such as: fish, shrimp, birds, turtles, etc. Along with the blend of Western, Asian, Chinese, Khmer, and Vietnamese culinary cultures, through the creativity in river cuisine, delicious dishes have been created such as: grilled snakehead fish, catfish soup with lau flowers, coconut salad, rice paper, etc. The favorable weather factor for tourism, highly appreciated by tourists after the culinary factor, with two seasons of sunny and rainy, the river environment has made the climate in Ben Tre in the dry season not too hot and stuffy, making tourists cool and comfortable. Besides, the most underestimated factor is the traditional festival, the festivals in Ben Tre are mainly spiritual, such as through the expression of remembrance, gratitude to those who have contributed, praying for luck and peace for work and life, such as the festivals: Nghinh Ong, worshiping

The natural environment is attractive, but tourists do not rate it highly, due to the terrain of rivers and plains without hills, mountains, or tropical forests, making the natural environment monotonous, lacking grandeur, high mountains, etc.

Considering the difference between international and domestic tourists shows that there is a big difference, such as the factor of Many cultural and historical relics, international tourists highly appreciate, this can be seen due to the difference in environment and living concept, almost in Vietnam in general, Ben Tre in particular, there are many architectural works about beliefs and religions, this is also a characteristic of Asian people.

Ben Tre tourism images

The results of the analysis and evaluation of Ben Tre tourism image, tourists rated it at a good level of 3.53. The results of Ben Tre tourism brand evaluation in 03 factors are all at a good level. This shows that Ben Tre tourism marketing activities have achieved good results in sending messages to customers and receiving feedback. Importantly, tourists' evaluations have comprehensively reflected Ben Tre tourism activities, such as products/services, quality, staff, environment, ... because the image of a product or locality is what impresses visitors to think about it and talk about it. Creating an image of an attractive tourist destination is also building the brand of Ben Tre tourism in particular and Ben Tre province in general.

Table 3.13. Tourists' reviews of Ben Tre tourism image

Variable

General assessment	Domestic guests	International guests
Memorable impression	3.58	3.74	3.41
Ideal tourist destination	3.51	3.71	3.3
Ideal tourist destination	3.53	3.68	3.37
General assessment	3.53	3.7	3.36

Source: Author's survey analysis results 2016 (appendix 10, 21)

Through the results of tourists' evaluation of 10 tourism factors, it shows that most of the factors are rated at a fair level, in which, the price factor (3.94) is rated the highest, the infrastructure factor (3.48) and the quality of tourism products and services (3.48) are rated the lowest at only average level.

3.3.3. Products

Tourism products and services

Table 3.14. Tourists' evaluation of tourism products

Fight

Price variation

Guest in	International guests
	shared	water	economy
Various attractions	3.74	3.85	3.63
Various entertainment activities	3.40	3.58	3.21
Diverse river tourism activities	3.73	3.85	3.61
Diverse tours	3.72	3.91	3.52
There are many attractive forms of tourism.	3.82	4.00	3.64
Rich shopping activities	3.86	4.02	3.69
General assessment	3.71	3.86	3.54

Source: Author's survey analysis results 2016 (appendix 10,13)

Tourists rated Ben Tre tourism products and services at a fairly good level of 3.71. With favorable natural conditions and suitable tourism development policies, Ben Tre tourism has brought tourists many interesting experiences about their trip to Ben Tre through the diversity and uniqueness of products/services. In particular, the most highly rated factor is the rich shopping activities, which is also an advantage of Ben Tre. The difference of tourism combined with shopping in Ben Tre, in addition to tourists shopping at traditional markets, visitors buy products and products at tourist attractions, traditional craft villages, ... an interesting point is visiting and shopping at floating markets on the river, this is a unique feature of the Mekong Delta. A major limitation of Ben Tre tourism is entertainment activities, which is shown by the fact that there are very few entertainment venues, tourists rate entertainment activities at the lowest level of only 3.4 below the average. Due to the lack of entertainment venues, entertainment activities are mainly folk, lacking modern activities. This is a problem of limited planning and investment in Ben Tre tourism, currently Ben Tre tourism mainly takes advantage of natural resources and has not invested heavily in artificial resources. Therefore, Ben Tre tourism needs a policy to coordinate both natural and artificial to create an attractive and diverse environment.

form in the sustainable development trend. Considering the assessment between international and domestic tourists, there is no big difference, international tourists rate higher than domestic tourists. In which, domestic tourists rate very low the entertainment factor below the average level of only 3.4. Most domestic tourists when traveling are families, so there are small children so the issue of children's fun is very important besides also to avoid their disturbance to adults is also a way to relax the trip.

Quality of products and services

Table 3.15. Tourists' evaluation of product and service quality

Fight

Price variation

Guest in	International guests
	shared	water	economy
Products/services provided ensure quality	3.39	3.52	3.26
Products/services provided have unique local characteristics	3.57	3.72	3.4
Service always innovates	3.37	3.49	3.25
Customer service as promised	3.52	3.65	3.39
Fast service delivery time	3.57	3.59	3.55
General assessment	3.48	3.59	3.37

Source: Author's survey analysis results 2016 (appendix 10, 16)

The results of the analysis and evaluation of the quality of products and services, tourists rated at an average of 3.48. In which, the factor of Fast service delivery time, which was rated highest by tourists at 3.57, shows that Ben Tre's tourist companies, locations, and areas provide very good service. Meanwhile, the 2 factors of Always innovative services and Products/services provided with guaranteed quality, were rated very low by tourists. This is an issue that tourism operators in Ben Tre need to pay more attention to. Innovation and pioneering of products and services are very important to the decision of the next choice of tourists. If there is no innovation, tourists will get bored and will choose tourist destinations with attractive and novel tourism products. In addition, reputation is important in business. If commitments are not kept, customers will be disappointed and will look for new suppliers. In tourism, being different, being pioneering and maintaining reputation

is the leading factor in retaining customers and attracting new customers, because when they appreciate, they will speak well and recommend to others. Considering that the evaluation between international and domestic visitors does not have a big difference in the quality of tourism services, this shows the limitation of Ben Tre tourism compared to other localities in the country as well as the region.

3.3.4. Price competition

Table 3.16. Tourists' assessment of price competition

Variable

General assessment	Domestic guests	International guests
Selling price is correct as listed	3.45	3.58	3.31
Competitive product/service prices	3.60	3.73	3.47
Reasonable room rates	4.25	4.27	4.22
Preferential price policy (customers, large groups, etc.)	4.18	4.26	4.1
Affordable travel costs	4.25	4.31	4.2
General assessment	3.94	4.03	3.86

Source: Author's survey analysis results 2016 (appendix 10, 14)

The analysis results of the price factor, tourists rated the price of Ben Tre tourism services at a very high level, considered good 3.94. In which, the two factors Reasonable room price and Travel cost were rated good 4.25. In general, tourism costs in the Western provinces in general are quite attractive to tourists, this may be due to abundant tourism resources, effective use, low labor costs, ... this is the advantage of Ben Tre tourism over competitors. However, the issue of concern is that low price is only one of the factors affecting the decision to choose a tourist destination of tourists. Because, cost is the total value of money, time, spirit, especially for tourism related to many spiritual values, such as sightseeing, learning, entertainment, stress reduction, ... Therefore, to improve the ability to compete on price, it is necessary to ensure the quality of service to attract customers. When considering between international and domestic visitors, there is no difference in perception of factors when traveling in Ben Tre.

3.3.5. Tourism promotion

Table 3.17. Tourists' evaluation of tourism promotion

Variable

General assessment	Domestic guests	International guests
Travel information on the web is complete and clear	3.93	4.1	3.76
Clear travel guide	3.74	3.77	3.7
Information provided through multiple channels	4.19	4.27	4.1
Attractive advertising information	3.80	4.01	3.58
Organize many tourism events	3.76	3.99	3.52
General assessment	3.88	4.03	3.73

Source: Author's survey analysis results 2016 (appendix 10, 15)

According to the data in Table 3.17, the results of the analysis and evaluation of tourism promotion, tourists rated it at a good level of 3.88. In general, tourism promotion activities in Ben Tre are of great interest and are seriously implemented by tourism companies and staff, demonstrated through the provision of information and instructions through many channels such as websites, television, guidebooks, brochures, etc. and have achieved many positive results such as tourism companies and tourist attractions all have introductory websites, guidebooks and introductions, etc. However, currently the opening of representative offices and linkages with tourism companies in key markets is still limited, leading to not many tourists coming directly to Ben Tre, most tourists come to Ben Tre through representative/travel companies in Ho Chi Minh City, this has certain impacts on Ben Tre tourism revenue. When considering the big difference between international and domestic tourists in tourism promotion marketing in Ben Tre, this shows that Ben Tre tourism companies have not paid much attention to domestic tourists. Domestic tourists play a very important role in the development of domestic tourism, because there are many visitors and they can travel many times in a year. Besides, domestic tourists also spend a lot on shopping for local products, so in the coming time, managers and tourism companies need to have better marketing strategies to attract domestic tourists.

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