‘Vietnam is open to tourism but still timid’

– How do you rate when the Government opens the tourism door from March 15 to seize the opportunity of the 31st SEA Games as well as the travel agencies to seize the opportunity at the end of the year to welcome international visitors?

– I think SEA Games 31 is just a secondary factor but not unimportant when we can integrate into the opportunity. Without the SEA Games, perhaps the Government still decided to open the door in March because the conditions are now ripe to be able to say this is the right decision to meet the urgent requirements of the opening. . The right time is when Vietnam has a safety level, has the right to open the door, invite tourists to come here with high safety and readiness from the country, businesses to people.

– In your opinion, Vietnam’s current opening-up policies have caught up with the world?

– Vietnam is one of the countries with the widest vaccine coverage, so it deserves to be a safe country. But we ourselves are still timid, groping, not really fighting in opening the door.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism needs to have a clearer and more proactive route to declare to the world that Vietnam is a safe destination, ready to welcome tourists. We need a national program declared, we need to take advantage of the opportunity, affirm Vietnam’s position on the world tourism map. We also need to take into account the relationship of benefits and costs, having to pay costs first to reap benefits later.

– What opportunities will the reopening of international visitors bring to Vietnam’s tourism?

– This is an opportunity for Vietnam to change the structure of tourism to enhance its position and increase the number of countries exempted from visas. Aviation and tourism – the two industries hardest hit by the pandemic – are the industries that support, benefit and are responsible for this. This is an opportunity for aviation and tourism to restore their position, when the world is still hesitant and confused.

Secondly, this opening is also a golden opportunity for Vietnamese tourism and aviation enterprises to change their position on the world map. If we recover soon and make a breakthrough, our position and competitiveness in the global situation will change.

We must increase the number of countries where citizens are exempt from visas in Vietnam and at the same time increase the number of days they can stay. Up to now, Vietnam has only exempted visas for citizens in 13 countries, the maximum number of days of stay is 15 days. Indeed, we are still too cautious.

– Expected to be a locality with strong resilience when it opens, what additional conditions do you think Quang Ninh needs to promote its advantages and potential for four-season tourism?

– Quang Ninh is one of the pioneer localities in the North to prepare conditions to develop four-season tourism. This is a new approach to Vietnam tourism. Traveling four seasons in a place with cold winters makes a big difference.

Quang Ninh and businesses are doing very well to develop the heritage area into a “wonder” of four seasons. However, the province needs more support from the central government and other localities to create tours, especially this coming summer. In the winter, it is necessary to prepare more new and unique tourism products such as hot mineral bath onsen, casino or night economy… At this time, it is necessary to have incentive policies to strongly develop various types of tourism. this travel.

Vietnam lags behind the world in many types of tourism, especially the night economy. Therefore, we need to quickly fill this huge gap in the travel business.

– How do you evaluate the investment of corporations such as Sun Group, Vin Group in Quang Ninh?

– In recent years, Quang Ninh has attracted leading enterprises, so the portrait and appearance of local tourism has been enhanced. I do not deny the great role of small and medium enterprises, but to change the development portrait, large corporations are needed. Due to the presence of large corporations, the role of small and medium enterprises is better promoted, especially leading corporations in tourism, resort and entertainment.

For example, Sun Group not only creates more different tourism products but also participates in the construction of modern and methodical transport infrastructure to connect Quang Ninh with the world and other localities, such as: Van Don airport, highways. Sun Group is also a direct contributor to the development of Quang Ninh tourism with a four-season tourism approach. Or the development of the night economy is also an implementation initiative with the main force being Sun Group. The pioneering, leading and orienting tourism development of corporations should be further encouraged from the Government as well as the society.

Khac Hung