Ninh Binh tourism is worried because it is difficult to retain tourists

Tourists can’t “eat one dish forever”

According to data from the Tourism Market Department (VNAT), in the period 2010 – 2019, international tourists to Ninh Binh nearly doubled, from 600,000 arrivals to nearly 1.1 million arrivals, accounting for 6% of the total number of tourists. number of international visitors to Vietnam. Domestic tourists increased from 861,000 arrivals in 2010 to nearly 7.3 million arrivals in 2019, accounting for 8.6% of the total number of domestic tourists in the country. However, Ninh Binh’s total tourism revenue in 2019 reached VND 3.7 trillion, accounting for only 0.5% of Vietnam’s total tourism revenue, showing that Ninh Binh’s ability to attract spending is still low. low compared to the national average.

Ninh Binh attracts a lot of tourists, but many people only visit during the day.

At the seminar “Promotion and development of tourism products in Ninh Binh province in 2022”, Mr. Nguyen Cao Son – Vice Chairman of Ninh Binh Provincial People’s Committee pointed out local challenges in recovering tourism after the Covid pandemic. -19. In which, the tourism growth in Ninh Binh is still mainly in volume, most of day visitors, holiday visitors… Tourism products are not rich and of low quality; There is still a lack of high-quality services, not many unique tourism products bearing the bold cultural imprint of the locality.

Mr. Ha Van Sieu – Deputy General Director of the General Department of Tourism said that the potential and tourism infrastructure in Ninh Binh is very good, so it has attracted a large number of visitors, but the length of stay of tourists is not long. Visitors cannot “eat one dish forever” but always expect new and unexpected emotions and experiences.

“Because Ninh Binh is quite close to Hanoi, as long as tourists have free time and lack of activities, they will leave. Ninh Binh products are rich but need to be linked together into a chain from day to night, the whole week. and weekends; create more activities, experiences, and nurture emotions for guests to expect them to stay for a long time” – Mr. Sieu analyzed.

Using cultural values ​​to retain customers

Regarding solutions to attract and retain tourists, Mr. Ha Van Sieu said that diversifying and chaining products, especially nightlife activities will help Ninh Binh attract guests to stay. Cultural and art performances are a good choice, but there needs to be a way of transmitting traditional culture for visitors to easily absorb and feel.

Taking an example from Thailand’s success in retaining tourists with special shows, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Long (Hanoi University of Social Sciences and Humanities) said that Ninh Binh needs to do programs immediately. cultural and artistic programs associated with local identities, such as the restoration of historical stories associated with King Dinh Tien Hoang. “Any destination needs unique art programs to attract and retain visitors, besides introducing natural landscapes.”

The seminar “Promotion and development of tourism products in Ninh Binh province in 2022” received many valuable comments.

In addition, sustainable tourism products and green tourism also need to be promoted in Ninh Binh because this is the trend and taste of tourists after Covid-19, especially international visitors. Mr. Phung Quang Thang – Director of Hanoitourist Travel Company, for example, recently this company offered Ninh Binh tours with a group of international guests and finally Thung Nham was selected, thanks to the travel experiences. green and sustainable here.

Dr. Tran Huy Duc (National Economics University) said that green tourism and sustainable tourism are inevitable trends after Covid-19, so Ninh Binh must innovate products, integrate new values ​​due to demand. market demand. More importantly, it is necessary to integrate “safety” into the design process of tourism products and services. Depending on the target market, personalize tourism products and services; in which, on the one hand, it emphasizes the values ​​​​from tourism resources that customers seek and want to experience, and on the other hand, emphasize the safety and health of these values.

According to Mr. Bui Van Manh – Director of Ninh Binh Department of Tourism, the cultural values ​​associated with Hoa Lu ancient capital and Trang An heritage will be the core to build Ninh Binh tourism brand. In the coming time, Ninh Binh tourism industry will strive to improve the quality, thereby prolonging the stay of tourists with solutions such as continuing to improve tourism infrastructure, connecting local heritages, building a tourism service business ecosystem, removing bottlenecks in tourism human resources… Notably, Ninh Binh will combine with Thanh Hoa and Hanoi to attract passengers flying from provinces and cities southern./.