Vu The Binh, chairman of the Viet NamSociety of Travel Agents (VISTA), said although Western Europe is a”high-ranking”, traditional, important, and stable market for Viet Nam,the country does not promote its tourism enough in the region except inGermany and Britain.
It also lacks skilled human resources to serve visitors from Western Europe, he said.
Tran The Dung, trade research anddevelopment director at Fiditour, blamed the euro’s continuing fall forthe increasing cost of travelling to Viet Nam.
“Western European tourists are temporarily choosing to visit countries that use the euro.”
And, though the tourism industry in thecountry has fallen on hard times, prices have not declined, and in factentry tickets at many tourist spots in Quang Binh and Quang Nam havegone up by 50-100 per cent, he said.
He also listed other shortcomings likefailure to publicise the plethora of colourful cultural festivals in thecountry that tourists can attend and unhealthy competition betweentravel companies.
The visa exemption for the five European countries has been mooted for just one year and that is not enough, he added.
Le Tuan Linh, general director of PhuongHoang Tourism Company, said tourists from Western Europe had preferredViet Nam since the ends of the 1980s, and it has been a steadily growingmarket for many years.
However, in the first eight months ofthis year arrivals from 12 countries in Western Europe decreased by 3per cent year-on-year.
“Only tourist numbers from Spain and Italy increased slightly.”
The causes include the economicsituation in Europe and a “poverty” of tourism products in Viet Nam,Linh said, also pointing out that Viet Nam offers mainly adventure andcultural tours, which attracts a visitor just once.
“Tourists from this market are especially sensitive to environmental issues.
“Ha Long Bay is a must-visit destinationfor any Western European tourist, but it usually attracts complaintsabout the environment.”
Visitors from the UK, France, Germany,Italy, and Spain can enter Viet Nam without a visa for 15 days, but thisshould be increased to 30 days, or at least 21, since visitors fromsuch far places would like to travel for longer, he said.
He too called for continuing with thepolicy for at least two years instead of the current one, and extendingit to all European countries.
Tourism authorities and travel agencies should work together to offer more attractive and competitively priced tours, he added.
Alfonso Tera, Spain’s ambassador to Viet Nam, said Spanish tourists came to Viet Nam “for a reason.”
“They come looking for adventure and nature, and appreciate the kindness of the Vietnamese.”
What the country should do is protectthe environment at major tourist sites, train service providers, andimprove road safety and medical care, he added.
Binh said enhancing the effectiveness of tourism promotion was the most important factor in attracting Western Europeans.
To get the best out of the visa policy,tourism agencies should offer short adventure and leisure tours for thefive to six million West Europeans studying or working in SoutheastAsia, and 10-15-day tours for people living in Western Europe, he said.
The tours should focus on visiting heritage sites and discovering traditional cultural places, he said.
VISTA was working with provincial tourism associations on a programme to stimulate demand in Western Europe, he said.
Viet Nam should have a “strong” cultural flavour in its tourism and take part in important tourism events in Europe, he said.
It should immediately organise roadshows in the five Western European countries to spread information aboutthe visa waiver and tourism stimulation programmes.
In the long term, Viet Nam shouldimprove its participation in two leading tourism fairs – ITB Berlin andWTM (the UK) – he said.
Media interactions and seminars tohighlight Viet Nam’s tourism attractions should be held there to catchthe attention of international travel companies and local people.
Kai Partale, tourism specialist for theESRT Programme, said Europe was one of the most important tourismmarkets for Viet Nam, generating in excess of a million arrivals a year.
Europeans accounted for 15 per cent ofinternational arrivals in Viet Nam last year, and their numbersincreased by 5.35 per cent a year between 2010 and 2014, he said.
Europeans also stayed among the longest – around 13.29 days on average last year – and spent a lot, he said.
Viet Nam would needs to improve itstourism products to excite customers, improve communications, andstrengthen its tourism brand with consistent messages, he said.
ESRT, short for Environmentally andSocially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development, is a EU-fundedprogramme for policy support and institutional strengthening, productcompetitiveness and public-private dialogue, and vocational educationand training.
Call to extend visa-free status for W. Europe
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