Tourists to North Central Coast in the period 2000

2.5 times higher than in 2000. Domestic tourism growth rate reached 10.2%/year in the period 2000 - 2010.

Regarding the structure of visitors by market and purpose of travel, the Chinese market accounts for the highest proportion, followed by visitors from Korea, the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, etc. Regarding the purpose of coming to Vietnam, the number of visitors traveling to Vietnam accounts for more than 40%, followed by commercial reasons 24%, visiting relatives 22% and other purposes 14%. International tourists come to Vietnam mainly by air 60%, followed by road 32% and waterway 8%.

b. Revenue

Due to the rapid growth of the number of tourists, tourism revenue also increased rapidly. In 2000, revenue reached 17.4 trillion VND, then in 2005 it increased to 30 trillion VND and in 2009, due to the impact of the flu epidemic and the global economic crisis, the number of tourists decreased, however, the Vietnamese tourism industry had timely solutions, revenue still increased to 68 trillion VND. By 2010, tourism revenue reached 96 trillion VND.

c. Accommodation

In recent years, the number of accommodation establishments has increased rapidly based on the renovation of old establishments and the construction of new establishments in the direction of professionalization. The rapid increase is reflected in both aspects: quantity and quality. In terms of quantity, from 3,267 hotels in 2000, it increased to 3,810 hotels in 2005 and reached 12,000 hotels in 2010 with a total of 235,000 rooms. By the end of 2010, the country had 391 hotels meeting the standard of over 3 stars (46 5-star hotels; 110 4-star hotels; 235 3-star hotels) with a total of 41,611 rooms.

Accommodation facilities in our country are currently concentrated mainly in major tourist centers such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Ha Long, Nha Trang, Da Lat. In particular, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are the two leading cities in the country in terms of the number of 5-star hotels. The leading 5-star hotels include: Sofitel Plaza Hanoi, Melia Hanoi, Rex Hotel (Ho Chi Minh City), Majestic (Ho Chi Minh City), Sunrise (Nha Trang), Furama (Da Nang)...

In addition to accommodation facilities, entertainment facilities in our country have been developed and put into operation to meet the needs of a large number of tourists. Typical examples include: Suoi Tien, Dam Sen, Thao Cam Vien, Ky Hoa tourist area (Ho Chi Minh City); West Lake Water Park, Thac Da tourist area, Thien Son - Suoi Nga, Bao Son Paradise (Hanoi). Besides Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, some other localities are also promoting the development of entertainment and sports facilities to attract tourists.

d. Human resources for tourism

Over the years, the labor force in our country's tourism industry has continuously increased in quantity and gradually improved in quality.

In terms of quantity, the number of workers (direct and indirect) generally tends to increase, however the growth rate of these two groups is uneven.

Table 1.1. Number of tourism workers in Vietnam's tourism industry

Year

2000	2005	2008
Direct labor	22,594	165,397	269,096
Indirect labor	1,984	112,537	244,970
Total	24,578	277,934	514,030

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(Source: Vietnam Tourism Geography – Page 200)

In terms of quality, the number of workers with university and college degrees has increased and formed a core team serving the tourism industry. However, this number of workers only accounts for a small proportion of the total number of workers in the industry. In our country's tourism industry, there are still many limitations such as not meeting the demand in both quantity and quality. The rate of untrained workers is still large (more than 50% in 2009), foreign language proficiency and professional capacity are still inadequate. In particular, workers in the industry still lack industrial style and are not really attached to the profession, except for workers in some large tourist centers.

e. Promotion, advertising, and development of tourism products

The achievements have opened up new opportunities for Vietnam tourism. The image of Vietnam tourism has affirmed its unique features with the imprint of some tourist cities very strong in the hearts of tourists: "Hanoi - the renaissance city of Southeast Asia", "Ho Chi Minh City - a charming blend of the past and present", "Nha Trang - Vietnam's tropical sea". Besides exploiting natural and cultural values to create traditional tourism products (sightseeing and resort tourism, cultural - historical tourism, sea and mountain tourism, medical tourism...), many new types of tourism: community tourism, eco-tourism, craft village tourism have not only been invested in and developed but also received active support from a number of countries and organizations such as the European Union (EU), the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Association of Canadian Universities and Colleges (ACCC)... contributing to poverty reduction in a number of localities.

Tourism activities in our country have made new developments, contributing to changing the face of the country, creating more jobs, increasing income, eliminating hunger and reducing poverty; contributing to economic restructuring, promoting exports, developing handicrafts; promoting transportation, culture, information and exchanges between regions in the country and internationally. The socio-economic benefits that tourism brings are the driving force for investment for the sustainable development of the industry. New opportunities are opening up for Vietnamese tourism with many good opportunities to promote and stimulate tourism, promising to achieve more achievements in the coming time.

1.2.2. Tourism activities in the North Central region

The North Central tourist region includes 6 provinces: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue associated with the key economic zone of the Central region and the East-West tourist corridor. The total area of the region is 51.5 thousand km 2 , with a population of 10,092 thousand people, population density of 196 people/km 2 . The north of the region borders Ninh Binh province, the south borders Da Nang province, the west borders Laos and the east is the East Sea.

The unique and diverse natural conditions and resources of this land, which has endured many challenges through historical changes, have created for the North Central Coast tourism region a rich tourism potential, with high value in attracting tourists and developing all types of tourism from sightseeing, vacationing, swimming to sports and research.

With a long territory and narrow corridor, with both mountains in the West (Truong Son range) and sea in the East (East Sea) with a length of 670km, the tourism resources of the North Central region are rich and diverse, such as mountains, caves, mineral water, national park ecosystems, lagoons and especially sea tourism. Along with the rich history of the nation, the North Central region is one of the important cultural centers of Vietnam, home to 3 world cultural heritages: the Complex of Hue Monuments, Hue Royal Court Music, Ho Dynasty Citadel, 1 world natural heritage Phong Nha - Ke Bang, 1 world biosphere reserve (Western Nghe An) and more than 550 cultural - historical relics ranked nationally, ranking 2nd out of 7 economic regions of the country (after the Red River Delta), accounting for 16% of the total number of nationally ranked relics in the country (2010).

The North Central region is also the birthplace of many famous cultural figures and politicians, and is home to a community of 25 ethnic minorities in Vietnam, typically Thai, Muong, Chut, Pa Co, Co Tu, Ta Oi, Bru - Van Kieu... with very unique cultural identities expressed through festivals, crafts, historical and cultural relics, architectural art, folk cultural treasures, cuisine... the system of revolutionary relics associated with the two resistance wars of the nation... is an extremely valuable humanistic tourism resource for tourism activities.

The North Central region has more than 1,200km of border with the Lao PDR with a system of important international and main border gates. In addition to the border gate system, there are border economic zones and border markets, which are great potential for developing border tourism.

Outstanding tourism resources of the whole region include:

- Heritage system (natural and cultural), revolutionary historical relics

-Natural landscape associated with the Northern Truong Son range

-National park and lagoon ecosystems

-Sea, island

-Cultural identity of ethnic minorities along the western part of the region

-Border with international border gates, border markets.

Notable resource sites include: Sam Son, Ho Dynasty Citadel (Thanh Hoa); Kim Lien, Cua Lo (Nghe An); Dong Loc Intersection, Nguyen Du Memorial, Thien Cam (Ha Tinh), Phong Nha - Ke Bang (Quang Binh), Anti-American War Relics, Con Co Island in Quang Tri; Hue Ancient Capital, Lang Co - Canh Duong, Bach Ma (Thua Thien Hue)...

Grasping the potential of the region, in recent years, the North Central provinces have continuously invested in building new and upgrading infrastructure and technical facilities to promote tourism development. Most notably is the transport infrastructure. Up to now, the region's transport network includes National Highway 1, Thong Nhat Railway and cross-roads such as National Highways 7, 8, 9. Ho Chi Minh Road not only has historical significance but also plays an important role in linking and promoting economic development exchanges between provinces in the region, especially with great tourism value. Through the above main national highways, the North Central region also connects and exchanges with Laos through a system of important border gates and border economic zones such as Na Meo (Thanh Hoa), Nam Can (Nghe An), Cau Treo (Ha Tinh), Cha Lo (Quang Binh), Lao Bao (Quang Tri). The whole region has 3 airports: Vinh airport (Nghe An), Dong Hoi (Quang Binh), Phu Bai (Thua Thien Hue), of which Phu Bai is an international airport. The airports in the region are being upgraded to better serve the connection between the region and the country's economic centers (Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City). In addition, the electricity, water and telecommunication systems are being invested in and renovated to effectively serve socio-economic activities in general and tourism in particular.

Table 1.2: Tourists to the North Central region in the period 2000 - 2010

Unit of measure

2000

2005

2007

2008

2009

2010

Tourists

Thousand people

1796.6

4347.2

6282.8

7139.6

7589.7

9650.1

International guests

Compared to the whole country

Thousand people

245.6

6.0

480.8

5.6

832.6

7.1

979.7

7.5

824.9

6.1

731.4

5.0

Domestic guests

Compared to the whole country

Thousand people

1550.4

8.3

3866.4

9.6

5450.2

9.9

6159.9

10.2

6764.8

10.0

8918.4

12.2

(Source: General Department of Tourism) The tourism industry of the region has developed strongly in recent years. In 2000, the whole region only welcomed 1.8 million visitors (international visitors accounted for 13.7%), but by 2010 it had reached 9.6 million visitors (international visitors accounted for 7.3%). Growth rate

The annual average of tourists in the period 2000 - 2010 reached 15%.

The number of accommodation establishments has also increased rapidly along with the increase in tourists to the region. In 2000, the region had 508 accommodation establishments, accounting for 13.6% of the total number of accommodation establishments in the country. In 2005, the number increased to 882 establishments, and by the end of 2010, the whole region had 1,587 establishments with 34,251 rooms, accounting for 13.1% of the total number of accommodation establishments in the country. The whole region has one 5-star hotel, the Imperial Hotel (Hue City). The number of 3 to 5-star hotels still accounts for a small proportion of the hotel system in the whole region.

With the growth of tourist sources, tourism revenue also increased. In 2000, tourism revenue of the whole region reached 507.5 billion VND, in 2005 it increased to 1,318.8 billion VND and in 2010 it increased to 3,864 billion VND, accounting for 3.8% of the country's revenue.

Chart 1.3: Tourism revenue in the North Central region in the period 2000 - 2010

Billion VND

3864

2940.5

3260.8

1765.6

1318.8

507.3

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

2000 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010

( Source: General Department of Tourism)

Year

Tourism development creates many jobs for the entire region's workforce, thanks to which the labor force in the tourism industry tends to increase rapidly over the years. If in 2000, the number of direct laborers in the regional tourism industry reached 8,650 people, by the end of 2010, the total labor force in the region was 29,240, 3.4 times higher than in 2000, accounting for 6.1% of the laborers working in the tourism industry nationwide.

Table 1.3. Number of employees in the tourism industry of the North Central region in the period 2000 - 2010

Unit	2000	2005	2007	2008	2009	2010
Labor	People	8650	17040	21733	23419	26075	29240
Compared to the whole country	%	9.2	6.2	5.6	5.5	5.9	6.1

(Source: General Department of Tourism)

The typical tourism products of the region are:

- Visit and study world cultural heritages (Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Hue Monuments Complex, Hue Royal Court Music).

- Visit and study traditional cultural heritages: cultural heritage of the Nguyen Dynasty in Hue.

- Beach and lagoon tourism, cultural and festival tourism

- Beach vacation (Lang Co beach - Cang Duong, Thien Cam beach, Cua Lo beach)

- Border and border gate tourism

- Visit and study the ecosystem at national parks such as: Ben En National Park, Pu Mat National Park, Vu Quang National Park, Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, Bach Ma National Park.

- Visit and study relics of the anti-American resistance period: Ho Chi Minh trail (legendary road).

- Cultural heritage of ethnic minorities in mountainous districts

By 2020, the North Central tourism region is expected to welcome more than 13 million visitors (3 million international visitors) with total tourism revenue reaching 1,820 million USD. Regional tourism is mainly concentrated in key areas:

- Southern Nghe An – Northern Ha Tinh is connected with Cua Lo, Kim Lien, Dong Loc, Cau Treo border gate, Hong mountain – Lam river…

- Quang Binh - Quang Tri is associated with Phong Nha - Ke Bang, Cua Tung - Cua Viet, Con Co island, Lao Bao border gate and the anti-American war relic system.

- Thua Thien - Hue is associated with the cultural heritage system of the ancient capital of Hue and the natural landscapes of Lang Co - Canh Duong, Bach Ma, Tam Giang...

In general, the North Central region is an ideal land for tourism development with rich natural conditions and unique cultural values. In the coming years, there needs to be a campaign to promote the brand, impress domestic and foreign tourists with tourism products. At the same time, there needs to be a long-term and large-scale plan for human resource training, providing a team of qualified tourism service staff who understand the characteristics of the region. Focus on completing the infrastructure and technical facilities to serve tourists at tourist attractions. And basically, it is necessary to create connections between localities, preserve natural ecosystems as well as human ecosystems combined with effective exploitation to create unique tourism products.

Tourists to North Central Coast in the period 2000 - 2010

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