Nghe An Department of Tourism receives Emulation Flag from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Attending the conference were Mr. Le Ngoc Hoa - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; leaders of the Department of Tourism, relevant departments and agencies, and representatives of localities and tourism businesses in the province. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Welcoming and serving over 6 million tourists.

According to assessments, 2018 was a challenging year for Nghe An's tourism industry. Unusual weather patterns and natural disasters, including early storms and floods, negatively impacted tourism in coastal and mountainous areas. Nevertheless, in 2018, the province still welcomed and served over 6 million tourists; including nearly 4.3 million overnight visitors and 128,700 international tourists; total revenue from tourism was estimated at 7,410 billion VND.

Over the past year, the results of tourism business operations; planning, investment in infrastructure and tourism product development; and information, communication, promotion and tourism marketing efforts have been positive. However, at the conference, delegates also frankly assessed many limitations and shortcomings.

Comrade Nguyen Manh Cuong - Director of the Department of Tourism, speaks at the conference. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Accordingly, tourism growth is unstable; it has not created a breakthrough in terms of products or growth rate. Some new agro-tourism products are beginning to take shape but are affected by seasonality, thus facing many difficulties in promotion and marketing. Many tourism projects have been registered but their implementation progress is slow.

The effectiveness of tourism promotion and attraction remains limited, and the direct inbound tourism market to Nghe An has not yet been opened up. The shortage of tourism human resources continues, especially in key areas like Vinh and Cua Lo, leading to many establishments failing to meet the required standards for their workforce…

Having tourists visit once and never return is a sad state of affairs for tourism.

While acknowledging and appreciating the achievements, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa also stated that the province's tourism industry still has much work to do. "For example, Cua Lo, a tourist town, is so beautiful this season that all you see are... falling yellow leaves. We need more services to attract tourists. That's something we must be concerned about in the current context," the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa speaks at the conference. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Comrade Le Ngoc Hoa also stated that 2019 was identified by the Provincial People's Committee as the year of administrative reform, building and perfecting the e-government system, aiming towards smart cities, and towards smart agriculture, tourism, and other fields.

“Tourists visiting Nghe An only need a smartphone to search for destinations and necessary services… and based on that, we can manage more effectively. With these applications, we can know how many times a visitor has visited. I really need the data in the report that I don't see, which is the data on visitors returning after visiting Nghe An. It's a sad state of affairs for the tourism industry if visitors come once and don't return. How can we ensure visitors stay and spend money? That's our important task,” the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized.

On behalf of the authorized representative, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Le Ngoc Hoa presented the Emulation Flag of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the Department of Tourism. Photo: Phuoc Anh

The collectives and individuals received Certificates of Commendation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including the Culture and Society Department of Nghe An Newspaper. Photo: Phuoc Anh

At the conference, on behalf of the Provincial People's Committee, Vice Chairman Le Ngoc Hoa presented the Emulation Flag of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to the Nghe An Department of Tourism; and awarded Certificates of Merit from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to 9 collectives and 3 individuals who had achieved outstanding results in building and organizing tourism activities in the locality in 2018, including the Culture and Society Department - Nghe An Newspaper. 9 collectives and 7 individuals also received Certificates of Merit from the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; many collectives and individuals received Certificates of Commendation from the Department of Tourism.