Vietnam will open its first tourism promotion office in Vientiane, Laos, in a bid to change the way tourism is marketed. 

This was announced by Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director General of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, during the seminar "Solutions for the breakthrough of the tourism industry" on March 12 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director General of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism speaks at the event. Photo: VNA

He said that this year the tourism industry has set ambitious targets to welcome 17-18 million international visitors and 110 million domestic tourists.

The sector is awaiting the Prime Minister's approval of the Tourism Master Plan for 2025-2030, with a vision for 2045, which will set the direction of development for the entire industry, according to Khanh.

He added that the authority is aware of the need to change the way it promotes tourism, focusing on segments such as community tourism, healthcare, rural tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism, golf tourism and rail tourism. 

Among the priorities is the establishment of tourism promotion offices abroad, where Vietnam lags behind its neighbours. The Vientiane office would bring in visitors from Thailand and Cambodia, Khanh stressed.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, chairman of Vietravel Holdings, suggested that the tourism industry could rely on the existing representative offices of tour operators in other countries while preparing to set up Vietnam's tourism promotion offices abroad.

He added that the company had recently opened an office in India, in addition to existing offices in Australia, the US and France.

Foreign travelers in Hanoi. Photo: the Hanoi Department of Tourism

Commenting on Hanoi's tourism development, Nguyen Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department, said that the department has drawn up a tourism development plan for 2024, focusing on several breakthrough solutions.

The department is working on mechanisms and policies to support the development of tourism destinations, community-based tourism models and rural agri-tourism to promote the development of these products in the city.

"We are working with domestic and international organisations and experts to conduct research and surveys to improve the city's statistics and tourism database. This will help us develop strategies according to tourists' preferences," Minh said.

The city will develop a comprehensive project to promote it on international media channels such as CNN, CNBC and TikTok.

From a business perspective, Pham Quy Huy, director of Kiwi Travel Company, said the high cost of domestic airfares currently discourages tourists from choosing domestic over international destinations within ASEAN. This is a significant obstacle to the development of long-term domestic plans.

He believes that aside from attracting tourists, the tourism industry should redefine peak seasons according to regional characteristics (Northwest, Central) to better serve tourists. Travel agencies should also increase cooperation to attract domestic and international visitors.

Regarding tourism in Ho Chi Minh City, the city's focus after the Covid-19 pandemic is on increasing revenue rather than the number of visitors, especially given the unstable international market, Le Truong Hien Hoa, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, told the workshop.

Currently, Vietnam's tourism promotion and communication efforts abroad are very effective, especially with the favorable new visa policy. Even before the policy came into effect, the department had already stepped up communication of the destinations, with encouraging outcomes.

He added that the city has also developed human resources and new and distinctive tourism offers.

"In particular, each district has developed a distinctive offer to attract tourism. This, coupled with tourism promotion at the city level, has contributed to the positive performance of the sector," Hoa added.