Improving the health of the tourism industry.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of June 12th, the Nghe An Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the Nghe An Travel Association, organized a meeting and working session with travel businesses in the province.

Overview of the conference.

In the first six months of 2015, the province saw the establishment of three new domestic travel centers (Anh Hong International Travel Joint Stock Company, Binh Minh Tourism Communication Joint Stock Company, and Muong Thanh Hoa Ban Travel Center), bringing the total number of travel businesses to 32, including 12 international travel centers, 1 travel branch, and 19 domestic travel centers.

In the first six months of the year, the Department assessed and issued 27 new tour guide licenses (23 domestic, 4 international), renewed 8 licenses (5 domestic and 3 international), and the inspection team from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the Department, also inspected 3 international travel agencies and fined 1 agency.

Also at the meeting, the Tourism Department instructed units to submit reports on business performance for the past six months, as well as reports on the list of staff and tour guides, to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism for compilation and reporting to the provincial government and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

In the coming period, the Department requests that units participate more effectively in domestic and international tourism promotion activities such as the Tourism Promotion Conference in Thailand in September, organize reviews and inspections of the legal compliance of travel businesses, penalize units operating unethically, and implement activities to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese tourism industry.

Strengthen inspection and supervision to ensure a level playing field for travel businesses, and organize more training courses specifically for travel agencies. Support travel agencies in participating more in domestic and international promotional activities.

During the meeting, many opinions were raised by state management agencies and tourism businesses regarding issues related to competition in service quality and price affecting the overall quality of tourism in Nghe An; the problem of many illegal travel agencies operating; the fact that the majority of tourists are still Nghe An residents traveling domestically and internationally; the limited exploitation of tourist sources; the decrease in tourists traveling to Laos and Thailand; and the limited participation of units in stimulus programs and events. Furthermore, most units lacked sufficient documentation and records related to tourist transportation activities.

Wang Peng