Nghe An aims to develop Chinese tourist market

(Baonghean.vn) - In the context of the tourist market of Thailand and Laos - 2 key international tourist markets of Nghe An tourism for a long time, which are showing a downward trend, Nghe An tourism is oriented to develop the Chinese tourist market.

» Nghe An will organize a roadshow to promote tourism in China

"If I don't do it, someone else will."

The wave of Chinese tourists is a common trend in the Vietnamese tourism market. According to statistics from the General Department of Tourism, if in 2010, Chinese tourists to Vietnam were only about 1 million, then by 2016 this number had increased to over 2.6 million. Khanh Hoa and Da Nang are the two most attractive destinations for Chinese tourists, welcoming about 600,000 and 400,000 visitors respectively.

In Nghe An, there are currently no specific statistics on the number of Chinese tourists in the overall picture of international tourists. However, managers and tourism businesses have identified this as a potential tourist market.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting Vietnam's tourist attractions is increasing. Illustration photo: Internet

Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Director of Nghe An Department of Tourism raised the issue: Many people are concerned about exploiting the Chinese tourist market, but we must recognize that all visitors are tourists and bring profits to the local tourism industry.

China is one of the three countries with the largest number of tourists in the world. The number of Chinese tourists to Vietnam is growing rapidly and if done well, this will be a large market for Nghe An tourism. “If we don’t do it, other places will. If we don’t do it, it will be too late. The problem is management.”

Agreeing with the viewpoint of the head of Nghe An Tourism, Mr. Hoang Trung Chau - Chairman of Nghe An Tourism Association added: In many other countries such as Japan, Korea ... there are also many Chinese tourists, tourism is still stable, there is no problem. The important thing is to manage it well. It must be determined that tourists coming to our province is a good thing!

However, there are still many concerns about the personality traits, customs, travel habits, etc. of this group of customers.

Sharing his own practical experience, Mr. Tran Ngoc Khoan - CEO of Lam Giang Hotel (Vinh City) said that he had many years of experience running a hotel in Nha Trang, including 3 years serving Chinese guests. "We should not worry too much about the tourism spending of this group of guests, because in reality, their ability to pay for accommodation services and shopping for goods is quite large" - Mr. Khoan affirmed.

However, businesses welcoming Chinese tourists need to be aware that “a group of Chinese tourists are noisy, have poor hygiene, and may cause some unpleasant situations during the service process. It is necessary to carefully study the Chinese tourist target to be proactive and adaptable. We should not worry that within a few years, the number of Chinese tourists will flood Nghe An because the international tourist market is not that easy to exploit. Instead, we should implement and promote step by step, prepare conditions in terms of management, facilities, and good tourism services to welcome tourists, and not be passive” - Mr. Tran Ngoc Khoan said.

If we implement zero-dollar tourism, what will we gain?

This is the concern of many tourism businesses when discussing the issue of exploiting the Chinese tourist market, but more deeply, it is the concern about the infrastructure and tourism services in Nghe An that are still limited and not enough to stimulate international tourists' consumption.

The Director of Nghe An Department of Tourism frankly acknowledged the reality of tourism in the province: “Chinese tourists often travel in large groups, raising the issue of accommodation. Currently, the whole province has 822 accommodation establishments with 19,703 rooms, but there is only 1 5-star hotel, 6 4-star hotels, 14 3-star hotels and more than 80 1-2 star hotels, the remaining 720 establishments are all small-scale, with limited facilities and services.

Accommodation is already difficult, then there is the matter of where and what customers want to spend and shop? We have few typical tourism products, and a lack of large-scale entertainment venues. If we launch a zero-dong tour, what will we gain?

Nghe An still has too few star-rated accommodation facilities, most of which are small in scale and unable to meet the needs of international visitors. Illustrative photo.

Along with that, once we determine to exploit the Chinese tourist market, we must also soberly evaluate the key tourism areas of our province to build tours and routes?

Mr. Ta Khac Uyen - Head of Nghe An Travel Association shared: "Nghe An does not have a world wonder like Ha Long Bay, does not have many world heritages like Quang Binh province, and it is also difficult to emphasize cultural - spiritual tours... So should the focus be Cua Lo beach?". Mr. Ta Khac Uyen also expressed many concerns about the issue of tourism transportation, tour guides...

Synchronize to manage and develop

Affirming the need to expand the international tourist market, including the Chinese tourist market, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong also emphasized that there must be synchronous participation of the entire political system, all levels, sectors, localities, and businesses to manage and develop well.

Recently, the Provincial People's Committee signed a decision to establish the Provincial Tourism Steering Committee, with members representing leaders of departments, branches and sectors, hoping to continue to increase management capacity and complete the targets set by the provincial tourism development strategy.

Conference scene. Photo: Phuong Chi

Based on that premise, the provincial tourism industry is taking initial steps to implement a strategy to develop international tourists. In the immediate future, from May 10 to 21, Nghe An will organize a promotion program to attract tourists in China. The program will take place in 4 cities: Nanning City (Guangxi), Fuzhou City (Fujian), Nanjing City (Jiangsu) and Hefei City (Anhui).

Phuong Chi