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In response the lack of human resources in the tourism sector, the HCMC government has approved a quick-fix plan to develop the work force of the sector from now to the year-end.
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A Japanese tourist is buying postcards at a street-side stall in HCMC's District 1. The city needs stronger professional manpower to cater to the increasing number of international arrivals. |
Dong Thi Kim Vui, director of the department of tourism, told the Daily on Monday that the short-term plan would focus on training people working for hotels, including those small and medium.
Meanwhile, the department is working on a master plan for developing the sector's workforce from this year to 2010, with a vision for 2015.
"The city's tourism industry is facing a human resource shortage, so the plan will provide a way out for the sector, " she said.
She said the demand for human resources would continue to increase each year. The city's tourism growth is around 12-15% a year while growth of human resources is merely, 3.5%, she said, adding more than half of the sector's staffs have not undergone formal training.
"We've lacked a strategy for human resource development, so it is impossible to meet the sector's demand for professionally trained people, " she said.
Since 2005, the tourism center of the country has not undertaken a survey on human resources for the sector.
But a survey done in 2005 indicates that with two million international tourists, the industry would need 24, 000 workers, with 14, 600 of them working for hotels, 5, 400 for travel firms, and the rest for entertainment parks.
The actual international tourist arrivals amounted to 2.7mil last year, not to mention huge numbers of outbound and local tourists.
"The city will not be able to gauge the demand for manpower if it is ignorant of it. Some should do an over-all survey about the real situation, then map out a strategy for developing the sector, " Vui said.
The city has given the green light to the department to undertake the survey, which will be used a basis for preparing the master plan for the tourism work force development from this year to 2010, with a vision for 2015.
The department expects to submit the plan to the city government at the end of this year.
"We expect around 70% of the sector's work force will undergo professional training this year, " she said.
She said the city's tourism department would serve as a bridge between universities, and enterprises to provide training. It also cooperates with foreign tourism organizations, and funds to provide scholarships, and short-term courses for employees and those holding senior positions.
"Late this year, experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency will come to the city and stay here for one year to teach Japanese and marketing, " she said.
In the 2007-10 tourism development plan, HCMC expects to earn more than US$2.15bil in revenue by 2010, and international tourist arrivals will increase by more than 12.3% a year to more than 3.6mil by 2010. The number of domestic tourists will have increased 15% a year to six million in the same year.
(Source: SGT) | 
