On economic efficiency in tourism activities of Nghe An
(Baonghean) - Up to now, Nghe An has 572 accommodation establishments with 12,704 rooms, 23,782 beds; including 4 4-star hotels, 11 3-star hotels, 22 2-star hotels, 25 1-star hotels, 27 travel agencies (including 10 international travel agencies). In 2012, there were over 3 million tourists staying in Nghe An, including 98,780 international tourists; tourism revenue reached 1,572,380 million VND. From the above figures, it can be seen that Nghe An's tourism activities are developing on a relatively large scale, with many accommodation establishments, many tourists, and tourism activities bringing in significant revenue. However, in terms of economic efficiency in Nghe An's tourism activities, there are still many issues to discuss.
Nghe An has major tourist centers such as Cua Lo, Kim Lien, Uncle Ho's hometown, Vinh city and many famous historical sites and scenic spots. The infrastructure for tourism activities is relatively large, including 62 hotels from 1 star to 4 stars. However, the revenue from tourism activities only reached over 1,500 billion VND in 2012, accounting for a low proportion of the total budget revenue of the province, not commensurate with the potential. The hotels are mainly built in Cua Lo town, due to the characteristics, each year they operate from 3 to 4 peak summer months, the remaining time is quiet.
A major limitation of Nghe An tourism is the poor products serving tourists, lacking unique products bearing the mark of Nghe An homeland. Visitors to Cua Lo can only buy seafood and some insignificant souvenirs of the sea, at hotels mainly sell goods serving the needs of diners, there are few high-end souvenirs. Visitors to Kim Lien, Uncle Ho's hometown, also find it difficult to find unique souvenirs. Cultural activities and services serving tourists at tourist attractions are very limited. Visitors to Cua Lo only go swimming in the sea during the summer days, there are no places to visit, enjoy culture, and have fun. Millions of visitors to Kim Lien, Uncle Ho's hometown, only take a very short "tour" to visit the tomb of Mrs. Hoang Thi Loan, Uncle Ho's maternal and paternal hometowns, and to offer incense in memory of Uncle Ho. Nghe An has many cultural and spiritual sites, where major festivals are held and attract a lot of people all year round, but the service activities here are mainly selling incense, serving food and drink, parking and some spiritual services, even superstitious activities. Due to the lack of cultural and service activities, Nghe An does not have any tourist sites that can sell tickets like Hung Temple, Huong Pagoda, Hue Imperial City or large parks in Ho Chi Minh City. The development of centers and closed tourist routes in the whole province as approved in the master plan has not been implemented yet, tourists to Nghe An concentrate in Cua Lo and Uncle Ho's hometown.
With the current state of tourism activities as above, to create economic efficiency commensurate with the province's tourism potential is a big and very difficult problem, requiring breakthrough solutions. There must be a comprehensive and balanced plan to build infrastructure and facilities for tourism activities. It is necessary to pay attention to investing in cultural activities and services for tourists, investing in the production of high-value tourism products with Nghe identity, having many high-class tourism products to serve the needs of tourists; there should be specific policies to encourage the development of cultural activities and services at tourist establishments, especially in major tourist centers such as Cua Lo, Kim Lien, Uncle Ho's hometown. Human resources for tourism activities in Nghe An are currently limited and of low quality, reception staff in hotels and motels lack both communication skills and foreign languages. It is necessary to have a long-term human resource training strategy and a policy to attract high-quality human resources for tourism activities. Implementing the above synchronous solutions well will help exploit the province's tourism potential, contributing to improving the efficiency of the province's "smokeless industry".
Tran Hong Co
