Launching a campaign to enhance the image of Vietnamese tourists.

This is a practical activity at the Vietnam International Tourism Fair (VITM 2016) aimed at contributing to building an image of Vietnamese people as civilized and courteous when traveling abroad.

Mr. Vu The Binh, Vice President of the Vietnam Tourism Association, stated that in recent times, some Vietnamese tourists have exhibited uncivilized behavior while traveling abroad. In the age of information explosion, such behaviors easily spread rapidly. The negative impact of these phenomena not only adversely affects tourism activities but also impacts the national image and Vietnam's integration process in general…

Immediately after the launching ceremony, the students participated in picking up trash and cleaning the environment on several streets in Hanoi to spread awareness and promote civilized behavior among Vietnamese people when traveling, especially abroad.

Tourists visit the historical sites of Hue Imperial City. (Photo: Quoc Viet/VNA)

According to statistics, in 2015, approximately 45 million Vietnamese people traveled domestically and over 6 million traveled abroad. Notably, due to a lack of advice and guidance, many Vietnamese tourists "naively" bring their "bad" habits overseas, which has somewhat created an image of "ugly Vietnamese" in foreign countries.

Common bad habits of Vietnamese tourists when traveling abroad include: disorderly conduct in public places; littering; wasting food; being late; inappropriate clothing; pushing and shoving due to a lack of queuing habits; and taking photos in prohibited areas. In particular, some Vietnamese tourists also have a habit of petty theft, especially in shops and supermarkets. There have even been cases of Vietnamese people exploiting tourism to stay in the host country and work illegally.

The Cua Lo Youth Volunteer Team for Culture and Tourism participates in cleaning up the beach. (Illustrative photo).

To raise awareness among Vietnamese people when traveling abroad, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in collaboration with the Vietnam Tourism Association, has developed a draft "Campaign to promote civilized behavior while traveling." This document will guide basic codes of conduct to orient the behavior, attitude, and manner of civilized and courteous conduct of Vietnamese people when participating in tourism activities abroad as well as at destinations within Vietnam. The National Administration of Tourism will also conduct awareness campaigns, build and form habits and behaviors of civilized, courteous, and law-abiding conduct among Vietnamese people when traveling, contributing to improving the image of Vietnamese tourists and enhancing the quality of tourism services.

In the near future, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association will soon finalize the draft to submit to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for promulgation and widespread dissemination.

According to VNA/VIETNAM+