Over 6 million tourists visited Nghe An.
(Baonghean.vn) - It is estimated that in 2018, the province will welcome and serve over 6 million tourists, with total revenue from tourism estimated at 7,410 billion VND, an increase compared to the same period in 2017. This is encouraging data, but at the meeting of the Provincial Tourism Development Steering Committee held on the morning of December 24th, delegates also raised concerns about the definition and method of statistically recording the number of tourists.
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| Comrade Le Minh Thong - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial Tourism Development Steering Committee - chaired the meeting. Photo: Phuoc Anh |
Specifically, delegates questioned the basis on which the statistic of 6 million tourists was obtained. How should a tourist be defined, given that the actual number of visitors from outside the province and from abroad has not yet met expectations?
Addressing this concern, Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Director of the Department of Tourism, stated that the definition of a tourist has been clearly defined in legal documents. “A tourist is a person who leaves their home and travels more than 20 km and uses tourism products and services. For example, if someone leaves home to visit Thanh Chuong tea island, travels more than 20 km, and uses boat services, takes photos, etc., then they are considered a tourist,” the head of the province's tourism sector explained.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong also affirmed that the statistics in the report at the meeting were provided by the General Statistics Office, not by the tourism industry. The data clearly distinguishes between the total number of tourists, overnight visitors, international visitors, etc. Therefore, one can be assured of its objectivity and accuracy.
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| The Thai famtrip group takes a commemorative photo at Thanh Chuong Tea Island. Photo: Phuoc Anh. |
At the meeting, delegates acknowledged and highly appreciated the achievements of the province's tourism sector over the past year. Accordingly, investment in tourism infrastructure and facilities continued to be promoted; in particular, Nghe An has two sub-projects officially approved by the Government to participate in the "Tourism Infrastructure Development, Supporting Inclusive Growth in the Greater Mekong Subregion - Phase II" project funded by the ADB.
Tourism promotion activities were strongly implemented both domestically and internationally; cooperation and linkages for tourism development were actively implemented in diverse forms... During the year, many new types of tourism products and experiential services were introduced to serve tourists.
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| Mr. Tran Huu Nghia, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper, emphasized that publicity is always a leading solution in tourism activities. Photo: Phuoc Anh |
A notable feature in recent times has been the consistent dissemination and promotion of information through various media and social networks. Mr. Tran Huu Nghia, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper, emphasized that communication is always a leading solution in tourism activities. In 2018, Nghe An Newspaper and the Department of Tourism signed a cooperation agreement on communication and promotion, achieving significant progress. According to preliminary statistics, each year, the three publications of Nghe An Newspaper feature over 300 news articles, photo series, video clips, infographics, and e-magazines about tourism, contributing to spreading the image of Nghe An's land and people to tourists near and far.
In addition, members of the Provincial Tourism Development Steering Committee also frankly pointed out some limitations and shortcomings in the province's tourism activities in the past period, such as unstable tourism growth; failure to create a breakthrough in product development; and slow implementation progress for many registered tourism projects...
Based on that reality, the Provincial Steering Committee for Tourism Development unanimously agreed on several goals and directions for 2019: Strengthening the direction and implementation of Resolution 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo on developing tourism into a key economic sector and the Party and State's guidelines and policies on tourism.
The province aims to welcome and serve 6.5 million tourists in 2019, including 4.65 million overnight visitors, an increase of 8.3% compared to 2018, and 145,000 international visitors, an increase of 12.6% compared to 2018; total tourism revenue is expected to reach 8,600 billion VND, of which tourism service revenue is expected to reach 4,400 billion VND, an increase of 17.5% compared to 2018.