|
Foreign investors spend $4.5b on 250 major tourism projects
Despite a high growth rate, competitive capacity still was a big concern for Viet Nam's tourism industry, a national conference in Ha Noi was told yesterday.
Deputy Prime Minister and head of the State Steering Committee on Tourism Nguyen Thien Nhan emphasised the importance of the industry to the economy.
Nhan said Viet Nam handled more than 10 million domestic and four million international tourists annually.
He added that Viet Nam had featured on a list of the 40 most popular countries for tourism.
Pham Trung Luong from the Institute for Tourism Development Studies said statistics released by the General Statistics Office showed that the incomes in the industry annually grew 16.6 per cent during the 2001-09 period.
He added the sector received 4.3 million international tourists in 2008. Last year, the industry earned the country over US$4 billion, accounting for 55 per cent of the service sector despite the number of tourists dropping 10 per cent over 2008.
Former Deputy Head of the General Tourism Department Bui Xuan Nhat said the industry also brought increased earnings for the transport, food-and-beverage and retail sectors, adding that the tourism sector ranked fifth on the list of the country's biggest earners following textiles and garments, crude oil, leather shoes and seafood.
Nhat said that while the first four sectors faced decreasing turnover and depended heavily on imported materials, the tourism industry's added value was huge.
Nguyen Quang Thai, vice chairman and general secretary of the Viet Nam Economic Association calculated that direct income from the industry was $4 billion last year.
"If we take into account indirect incomes brought to transport, culture, commerce, telecommunications and information, insurance and banking, the figure would be $6 billion, equalling to 6.5-7 per cent of the country's GDP," he said.
Luong added that Viet Nam's tourism potential has drawn much attention from foreign investors.
He said there were 250 projects invested in the industry with total registered capital of $4.5 billion, accounting for around 4 per cent of total the country's total projects and 15 per cent of total FDI during the 2001-08 period.
Head of the General Tourism Department Nguyen Van Tuan said last year alone, FDI in tourism had surged, reaching $8.8 billion, accounting for 41 per cent of total FDI inflows.
Tuan said the industry had created about 450,000 direct and one million indirect jobs last year, adding that it promoted the development of aviation, construction, services and commerce.
In the first half of the year, the number of international tourists to Viet Nam increased considerably, said the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.
The ministry showed that the country received 2.5 million international tourists, 32 per cent higher than the same period last year.
Competitiveness
Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said the sector could be hard to develop if the social environment was not improved.
Nhat said the industry faced challenges due to poor planning and increasingly polluted tourism sites.
He added that the country's tourism had not been sufficiently promoted with a focus on international standards and improved quality being necessary.
Luong said Viet Nam lacked variety in high quality unique products and competitive pricing.
"Monotonous tours have not met tourist demands and this needs to be urgently resolved," he said.
Nguyen Le Bach, former Viet Nam Ambassador to Egypt, Kuwait, Syria, Palestine and Israel said the industry has mostly only explored available resources, making it unattractive to visitors.
Targeted investment
Viet Nam is preparing several major events this year, including the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi which could bring opportunities for the industry's growth.
Deputy PM Nhan said the industry should promote its quality and actively integrate in international economy. He said solutions to modernise immigration procedures should be given priority.
He added that it should also review national tourism sites and evaluate their effectiveness and take measures to improve them. The industry should in parallel encourage local residents to develop and protect existing tourism sites.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Anh Tuan said the industry should increase popular awareness as well as invest in infrastructure, human resources and market research.
Tuan said the sector should focus on reviewing plans and promoting joint work with regional countries.
Viet Nam's tourism industry is striving to receive 11-12 million international and 45 million domestic tourists by 2020.
"The industry would be a major contributor to the national economy if we treated it as a key sector," Nhat said.
vietnamnews
|
