Electronic tourist maps for 4 provinces in North Central Vietnam are coming soon.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of April 27th, in Ha Tinh City, the "Program for Developing Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity" project (EU-ESRT project funded by the European Union) organized a workshop on "Supporting Destination Management in 4 North Central Provinces".

Attending the workshop were representatives from functional departments of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, representatives from the EU-ESRT Project Management Board, and representatives from the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Tourism Promotion Centers in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces.

The workshop was organized to present the results and solicit feedback on the expert group's proposals, as well as to discuss the direction for developing an action plan in the near future to promote tourism product development, destination management, marketing, and training.

A view of the workshop.

At the workshop, expert Robert Travers presented initial research findings on products, marketing, human resource development, and key issues related to responsible tourism. Based on this, the expert proposed activities to highlight, protect, and invest in the unique characteristics of the four provinces; address seasonality and product standards as prominent issues requiring resolution; meet the standards of competitive destinations; and create marketing opportunities if products and service standards are upgraded.

The beauty of Cua Lo beach. Photo: Sy Minh.

Experts also said they would help provinces identify and prioritize the strongest tourism products in the region, as well as tourism product clusters, including routes linking these priority products.

Thanks to this technical support, tourism in North Central Vietnam will be able to speak the language of the market to promote product clusters as attractive destinations, helping tourists experience these destinations and plan their trips. As a result, these travel routes will encourage tourists to stay longer, travel further, and spend more.

From now until July 2016, Project experts will closely coordinate and exchange information with working groups and tour operators to finalize product clusters and tour routes in the region. In August 2016, the Project will hand over an electronic map of the region, highlighting product clusters and tourist destinations in the four provinces of North Central Vietnam.

Wang Peng