HCMC – The Government would work out policies to tackle difficulties facing the tourism sector, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
He was speaking during a national conference held this morning, March 15, to find ways to step up tourism recovery and development.
Though Vietnam sees tourism an economic spearhead and resumed its tourism activities in mid-March last year, the industry’s recovery pace has been slower than expected.
According to VisaGuide.World in late 2022, the recovery rate of Vietnamese tourism was only 18.1%, although Vietnam was one of the first countries to reopen domestic and international travel post pandemic, while the rates of other neighboring countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia ranged from 26% to 31%.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung attributed the sluggish recovery to lower-than-expected international tourist arrivals and ineffective tourism promotion campaigns, as feeder markets have yet to reopen outbound tours.
Though there has been some improvement in the visa policy, Vietnam’s tourism has yet to fully tap the nation’s natural and cultural strengths.
“Those factors made the industry lag behind the global tourism trends,” Hung said.
The minister also added that the industry had to face a shortage of experienced workers as they changed their jobs as the Covid-19 pandemic severely hit the industry for two years.
According to experts, domestic tourism is expected to grow modestly in the coming time. Competition for tourists among countries in the region would get fiercer, while there would be fewer visitors from major feeder markets such as China and Taiwan, coupled with the Russia-Ukraine military conflict hindering Russian tourists from traveling to Vietnam.
This year, the nation aims for eight million international tourists and 102 million domestic travelers, with revenue estimated at VND650 trillion.
The industry targets 18 million international visitors and 130 million domestic tourists in 2025. With an expected domestic tourist growth rate of around 8-9% per year, it aims to generate 5.5 million jobs and contribute from 6% to 8% to the nation’s gross domestic product.
Source: The SaigonTimes