Foreign tourist arrivals

With the peak summer travel season drawing to a close, Vietnam’s international tourism segment still faces bottlenecks on its route to full recovery. Within the framework of a program early this week to discuss the current state of the Vietnamese tourism sector, representatives from businesses and organizations across the country voiced doubts that Vietnam will meet its goal of welcoming five million foreign tourists by the end of the year if regulations governing visa policies, infrastructure, and personnel are not relaxed. Incomplete recovery According to Cao Thi Tuyet Lan, sales manager at Viettours Incentives & Events Co. Ltd., foreign tourists still find it difficult to enter the country despite Vietnam having fully reopened its borders. “What's more, it is hard to apply for visas for business travelers who work with domestic enterprises," Lan said. “[The domestic partner] first has to register [the foreign partner] with the Immigration Department, then wait for a … [Read more...] about Vietnam still struggles to welcome back int’l tourists

Foreign tourists visit the Independence Palace in HCM City on August 8. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Strict visa policies and a shortage of human resources and infrastructure in the tourism sector have stymied recovery of the travel industry, and the target of five million international arrivals this year could be out of reach, industry players have warned. Domestic travel has seen a strong rebound whereas international tourism, with a target of five million arrivals this year, remains in a slump, said Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association. Domestic visitor numbers topped 71.1 million in just the first seven months of this year against a full-year target of 60 million, he said. In the same period there were only 733,000 international visitors, or 8% of pre-pandemic numbers, he told a two-day programme titled ‘Lien Ket Suc Manh Du Lich Vietnam Nam 2022’ (Power of Vietnam Tourism Linkages) that ended in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9. Though … [Read more...] about Vietnam mulls ways to boost inbound travel

Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - As tourism continues to revive, the hotel and tourism industry is suffering from challenges in recruiting qualified human resources post pandemic, industry players warned. Speaking at a seminar on August 9 in HCM City, Dr Nguyen Anh Tuan, director of the Institute for Tourism Development Research, said there was a lack of high-quality staff in the industry. Vu The Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association , said that human resources were a weak point for the industry even before the pandemic. “Efficient, hard-working, and resourceful human resources are the backbone of any successful business. It is even more so in the case of the hotel industry.” Successful hotel operations are sustained by customer-oriented and hard-working employees who have adequate competencies, he added. A large number of hotels and resorts stopped operation during the two-year pandemic, and coming back could prove challenging, he … [Read more...] about High-quality human resources key to sustainable tourism industry