Published:  12:21 Thursday - June 06, 2013

Hanoi is trying to apply measures to attract domestic and international tourists while accelerating the growth of inbound and outbound travel. Stimulating demand

Guom Lake

The city’s tourism stimulus programme in 2013 is centred on attracting international tourists, promoting domestic travel, launching new tourism products, and carrying out advertising and sales campaigns. Hanoi is striving to achieve more than 20 per cent growth of Japanese tourist arrivals this year. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi has also encouraged tour operators and hotels to join the stimulus programme in 2013, and supported international FAM trips to visit the city.

In addition, the tourism sector will focus on promoting domestic tourism during public holidays and national tourism events in 2013, while encouraging travel firms, hotels, restaurants, transportation firms, amusement centres, and shopping centres to cut prices 10-40 per cent for tourists during the low season.

At a recent workshop on “implementation of tourism stimulus programme in 2012 and cooperation with Hanoi tourism development companies,” Mai Tien Dung, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, confirmed that the city will create a variety of new unique tourism products and support local businesses to study and develop peculiar products. Hanoi will also focus on developing community-based tourism in Ba Vi district and open tours to Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the Literature Temple – Dong Ngac old village. To attract tourists, tour operators will develop unique products for key markets.

Strengthening connectivity

In addition to tourism product development, linking tourist attractions plays an important role in improving tourism development efficiency. At a seminar on “new tourism products and tourism stimulus programmes for the Mekong Delta 2013″ held in Hanoi on May 16, 2013, Mekong Delta and Hanoi tourism companies worked together to learn about opportunities of business cooperation, operation information exchange, tour development and two-way business exchange. At the event, 56 tour operators, hotels and restaurants based in nine Mekong Delta provinces introduced demand-stimulated tourism products to 150 tourism businesses, tour operators, hotels and restaurants in Hanoi.

In the past time, Hanoi-based businesses have also cooperated in tourism development with many localities nationwide. On April 20 in Hanoi, in the framework of Vietnam International Travel Mart 2013 (VITM), the Hanoi Tourism Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association signed an agreement on cooperation plans for the implementation of domestic tourism stimulus programmes in 2013.

In the near term, Hanoi is working with member cities of the Council for Promoting Tourism in Asia (CPTA) for the construction and operation of One Asia Pass products with the involvement of businesses, destinations and transport service providers to form tourism products with reasonable prices and guaranteed quality for inbound and outbound tourists. It means that if travellers choose two CPTA-member cities on their journeys, they will be given special rates. As for domestic tourism, Hanoi has also promoted cooperation with other localities to create joint tourism products with Northwest provinces, Quang Ninh province, Bac Giang province and Lang Son province.

In particular, Hanoi also focuses on maintaining sustainability, because sustainable development is a common trend. In addition to ensuring a green, clean and beautiful environment, responsible tourism development also creates jobs, increases incomes and sustainability for local poor people, and contributes to the socioeconomic development of the city in particular and the country in general.

According to the statistics of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in the first quarter of 2013, Hanoi received 5.12 million visitors, up 17 per cent year on year, including 615,000 international arrivals and more than 4.5 million domestic visitors.

In the second quarter, the Department will continue to implement the Cultural Plan to 2020, with a vision to 2030, approved by the Hanoi People’s Committee, in 29 districts and collaborate with the Vietnam Tourism Association to carry out the tourism demand stimulus programme in 2013.

Source:Ccinews