Vietnam pursuing foreign tourists
15:11 04/03/2009

      Vietnam is promoting its tourism industry abroad in a move to lure 4.4 million foreign visitors this year, according to tourism officials.

Vietnam is intensifying tourism promotion in China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, France, England and the United States. Tourism authorities are organizing more trips for foreign travel agencies, reporters and investors to familiarize them and their respective countries with Vietnamese tourism, said Hoang Tuan Anh, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

This year, the country will implement the "Three Nations, One Destination" program to promote trans-national tours through Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and establish representative offices in Russia and France, he said.

Planners will focus on advertising Vietnamese tourism in foreign media and the Internet. Priority will also be given to hiring foreign experts to conduct major marketing and advertising campaigns.

Tourism sector representatives will also ask the government to waive visas for foreign visitors who travel to Vietnam by sea. Guides and other tourism-industry would be included in this according to criteria set by the European Union.

Anh also said hotels would be upgraded nationwide.

Including domestic tourists, tourism authorities aim to generate total tourism revenues of US$2.5 billion this year.

Last year Vietnam hosted nearly 3.6 million foreign visitors, mainly from Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, North America and Europe, up from nearly 3.5 million in 2005.

The country’s tourism plan also includes receiving 5.5-6.0 million international arrivals in 2010, to create $4-4.5 billion in revenue.

Source: Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam – Translated by Thu Thuy

Source : thanhniennews.com