Nghe An tourism grows rapidly but unsustainably

Overview of the meeting. Photo: Phuoc Anh

On the morning of January 22, the Steering Committee for Tourism Development of Nghe An province held a meeting to summarize the direction of implementing tasks in 2017 and the direction and tasks in 2018.

Comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Tourism Development Steering Committee chaired the meeting. Also attending were representatives of relevant departments, branches and sectors.

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Fast but unsustainable growth

In 2017, the whole province welcomed 5.96 million tourists, of which 3.85 million stayed, equal to 135% compared to 2016 and reaching 106.9% of the yearly plan; there were 109,100 international visitors, equal to 142% compared to 2016. Total revenue from tourism activities is estimated at 6,086 billion VND, of which revenue from tourism services reached 3,092 billion VND, up 38% compared to 2016 and reaching 120.8% of the yearly plan.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Director of the Department of Tourism spoke at the meeting. Photo: Phuoc Anh

The above figures clearly increased compared to 2016, but the head of the provincial tourism industry frankly assessed that this growth rate is fast but unsustainable.

“The increase in 2017 is obvious because we compare it with 2016 - when the marine environmental incident occurred, tourism decreased sharply. Nghe An tourism has made many strides, but in reality there are still many problems that need to be overcome” - Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong said.

Agreeing with this view, Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien - Chairman of Nghe An Tourism Association also said that the number of international visitors to Nghe An has increased but not significantly; the spending level of visitors is low. The main reason is that the province lacks unique tourism products to attract visitors to stay. According to Mr. Hien, currently, visitors to Nghe An are mainly transient visitors, considering Nghe An as a stopover on the Central heritage road.

Vinpearl Cua Hoi tourist area - an attractive destination for guests. Photo: Internet

“Investment must be “good” to attract customers. Last year, destinations such as Vinpearl, Muong Thanh - Dien Lam Eco-tourism Area… had a lot of visitors, there were times when rooms were “sold out”. This shows that if there are quality and classy products and destinations, customers will come right away” - Mr. Hien said frankly.

The representative of the provincial tourism association also said: "We have too many craft villages, too many relics and the promotion work is still fragmented and unattractive. We don't need much, just need to promote and promote a few key craft villages and relics, do it well so that it can spread from there."

Changing the mindset of promotion and advertising

At the meeting, many delegates agreed that although tourism promotion and advertising work has had positive changes, it has not gone into depth, lacked focus and key points, the form is still monotonous, and the effectiveness and spread are not high.

Mr. Tran Huu Nghia - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper said that some localities have built their own websites, helping tourists easily access and find information. This is something that needs to be promoted. Photo: Phuoc Anh

In addition to the reason of "lack of funding" as expressed by Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong - Director of the Department of Tourism, the delegates also pointed out many other issues. Mr. Tran Huu Nghia - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper said that agencies and units need to strengthen coordination with news agencies and newspapers. Recently, tourism promotion through electronic newspaper "channels" has been very effective; at the same time, many localities have their own websites, helping tourists easily access and learn about socio-economic information, cultural and tourist destinations. This is something that needs to be promoted.

Ms. Vo Thi An - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade said that the province needs to create conditions and allocate more funds for tourism promotion activities. "When taking flights, tourists love to read travel newspapers and magazines. Many localities advertise through this "channel" very effectively, but has Nghe An tourism ever appeared in these newspapers and magazines?" - Ms. An wondered, and added: "We need to "fast", "give up the small shrimp, catch the big shrimp", promote and advertise on a larger scale, more focused and more effectively".

Buckwheat flower fields - a new destination for Nghe An tourism in 2017. Photo courtesy

At the meeting, delegates also discussed enthusiastically about issues such as infrastructure, traffic, security and order, immigration procedures in border areas, etc. Acknowledging the achieved results and basically agreeing with the opinions expressed at the meeting, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Minh Thong emphasized a number of key tasks in 2018.

Accordingly, departments and branches focus on implementing Resolution 08 of the Politburo on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector; speeding up the progress of developing plans, programs and projects for tourism and heritage development; attracting investment in infrastructure, developing new products and services; strengthening coordination with press agencies for more effective propaganda and promotion; linking training and fostering human resources with the implementation of the National Tourism Occupational Standards VTOS...

In 2018, Nghe An strives to welcome and serve 4.2 million overnight guests, an increase of 9% compared to the estimated performance in 2017; total revenue from tourism reaches 6,850 billion VND.

Phuoc Anh