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VietNamNet Bridge – Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Tran Chien Thang spoke with local newspapers about the increasing prices in the tourism sector and their effects on Vietnam’s ability to attract foreigners.
What is your assessment of the recent increase in the price of tourism services?
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Prices have risen by 30 per cent since 2007 due to the pressure of world market price hikes. | Prices have risen by 30 per cent since 2007 due to the pressure of world market price hikes. This is having a negative impact on our service quality, competitiveness and ability to attract visitors. In July alone, the number of tourists coming to Vietnam dropped 16.4 per cent. This is one of many obstacles that the country must overcome by the end of this year.
However, despite price difficulties, the Vietnamese tourism sector maintains its high growth rate and the market is expanding.
In the first six months of the year, 2.3 million tourists visited Vietnam as expected. This also proves that Vietnam is still attractive to foreigners. We have more favourable conditions than those of surrounding countries such as nature, culture, and a stable society and economy. Our promotion programmes are proving effective.
According to statistics, about 15 per cent of tourists want to come back to Vietnam. What is your take on this?
First, we must talk about tourists’ habits. Tourists want to discover different countries and once they’ve been somewhere, they have little desire to return. Vietnam, despite having many famous landscapes, is one of over 200 countries in the world.
In terms of services quality, we have to admit that to some extent, not even we are satisfied, thus it is difficult to satisfy foreigners completely.
What should the tourism sector do to continue attracting visitors to Vietnam in the future?
Currently, the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism is implementing long-term projects to develop the tourism sector. The administration has submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for approval, a strategy for tourism development till 2020 and toward 2030, a plan to develop tourism in the Vietnam – Laos – Cambodia border region, and a plan to develop sea, island and coastal regions till 2020.
We’re also boosting research projects to develop new tourism products and programmes to protect the environment.
In the near future, the administration will co-operate with cultural and sport sectors as well as provinces and enterprises to diversify products and services. We should learn from the experiences of other countries in connecting tourism and culture, tourism and trading, and commercialising cultural products which will help improve people’s life.
From July to September, there will be a "promotion season" of the tourism sector.
Do you think that the administration will meet the target set for this year?
We set the 2008 revenue target at VND64 trillion (US$3.7billion) and so far this year, the sector has earned VND24 trillion ($1.4 billion). To meet the target, the ministry will improve the efficiency of tourism advertising and promotion activities through both domestic and international cultural and sport events such as ASEAN tourism forum, Asia-Europe tourism forum, and other cultural exchange activities; as well as boost Vietnamese tourism marketing in the 2008-2015 period.
With many events held in the last five months, we expect to reach the set target. However, we still need more careful assessment and to find suitable measures to attract tourists amid rapidly increasing prices.
(Source: Viet Nam News) | 
