|
Needed: cheaper, better tourism services
With the number of foreign visitors likely to fall this year, travel firms need to pool their resources to lower prices and improve their services, industry officials have said.
Vu The Binh, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT)’s Travel Department, said there is an urgent need for all businesses in the tourism industry to cooperate to attract tourists.
The number of international arrivals rose a mere 0.6 percent last year to 4.25 million, according to the General Statistics Office. The country had hoped to attract five million visitors.
While more tourists came from China, Australia and the US last year, the number of visitors from some other important markets like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan declined 5-6 percent, the office said.
Last month Binh had forecast arrivals in 2009 to fall 20-30 percent because of the global economic crisis.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said the priority this year is to unite businesses in a major tourism campaign.
The primary aim of the campaign, set to be launched this week to coincide with the 2009 ASEAN Tourism Forum in Hanoi, is to effect 30-50 percent across-the-board price cuts and improve service quality. Around 200 tour packages are expected to be unveiled in January and February at discounted prices.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it has asked the government to halve the value-added tax for travel agencies, hotel and restaurants to 5 percent so that they can lower their prices. It has also asked for the introduction of a visa-on-arrival system and VAT refund for tourists.
Nguyen Manh Cuong, VNAT deputy head, said national carrier Vietnam Airlines and many large hotels and travel agencies have pledged to join the campaign and lower prices.
If the campaign is successful, it would be extended for the whole year from the original nine months, Cuong said.
But companies registering for the campaign must really cut prices by 30-50 percent, he said, warning that they cannot mark up their prices before lowering them.
But lower prices must go together with higher quality, he said.
Deputy Minister Thang said the travel industry needs to focus on improving service quality if it wants to attract more visitors to Vietnam.
In the long term, the country should take advantage of its natural attractions and safety, he said.
Le Dinh Tuan, chairman of Tan Hong Tourism Company, said tour operators need to think from the viewpoint of foreign visitors and understand their expectations when travelling to Vietnam.
Lowering prices to attract more tourists is good but the authorities need to ensure that service quality is maintained, he said.
“If the authorities do not monitor the price cuts carefully, the quality of food and transport might suffer and operators might even cut some services included in tour packages.”
Analysts said charging unreasonably high prices for low-quality services is a problem plaguing the Vietnamese tourism industry.
Do Hong Xoan, head of VNAT’s Hotel Department, said she received several complaints on this issue. One tour guide, for instance, reportedly asked tourists to pay VND1.85 million for a two-star hotel room in Nha Trang while the actual price was only VND380,000, she said.
Nguyen Quang Thanh, deputy director of the Thua Thien - Hue Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said some service providers have been unscrupulous and given the whole industry a bad name.
Together with the promotion campaign at home, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said it would launch a global advertising campaign to attract tourists. It plans to highlight attractions like Ha Long Bay, Sapa and Hoi An.
Cao Tri Dung, deputy general director of Da Nang-based Vitour Company, said as tourism prices in the central region are already low compared to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, it is hard to cut them further.
So, it is necessary to have a marketing campaign to attract more visitors, especially from Europe, to the region, he said.
TN, VNA
|
