Nguyen
Van Tuan, Director General of VNAT, said the administration had earlier
held tourism promotion events in so many markets, so their efficacy had
not been fully achieved due to sparse funding.
VNAT will engage advertising and event management companies in its
forthcoming programs to warrant professionalism and success, he said.
“Professionalism is a new priority for us. Outsourcing to professional
event companies will help us successfully implement the plan.”
The country’s tourism authority is trying to woo visitors from ASEAN countries, Japan, China, North America, and Northern and Western Europe.
VNAT has in the year to date put up bids for organizing events in
regional countries like Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia as part of a
program to promote the image of the country’s tourism between February
28 and March 6.
The VNAT has also invited tenders for design of national booths at
ITB Berlin 2010 from March 10 to 14 in Germany, and the Moscow
International Travel and Exhibition 2010 in Russia from March 17 to 20.
Major travel buyers have also been invited to visit these booths to gain
an insight into Vietnamese tourism products on offer.
VNAT has outsourced a publicity program on China’s TV channels to
promote Vietnam’s tourism images to Chinese tourists this year.
Tuan said VNAT had asked some big tourism companies to join hands
with it in organizing promotion events abroad. It is seeking cooperation
with neighboring countries in marketing activities.
“We’ve asked such companies to provide support and preside over some
events. We will set aside finances for these events,” he said.
The administration will have at least VND40 billion to organize tourism promotion activities at home and abroad this year.
According to VNAT, around 416,000 foreign visitors toured the country
last month, up 20.4% year-on-year. Travelers from China numbered a
staggering 59,400, up nearly 95% year-on-year.
“It’s an encouraging result. We expect to receive around 4.2 million
foreign visitors but the actual number might be higher if the tourism
sector can maintain the current pace of foreign arrivals,” Tuan said.
The country attracted around 3.8 million foreign tourists last year,
down nearly 11% from 2008, due largely to the impact of the global
recession.