Reclaiming foreign travellers

Nguyen Thanh Vuong, Deputy Director of the Market Department under the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), talks about policies to help attract more foreign travellers.

As far as I know there will be a lot of drastic measures taken to recover the tourism industry. Could you please tell us more about the measures?

More tourists coming to Vietnam means higher export turnover – export on the spot. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene timely to stop the decreases in the number of travellers.

Despite the economic recession, many people still want to travel. They care a lot about security and service quality.

What will we do to improve tourism service quality? What are the measures which you call urgent, and what are the long-term measures?

Together with the urgent measures which we have to carry out in 2009, we need to prepare long-term measures. We have identified some things we need to do right now.

First, travel firms that can attract tourists to Viet Nam need to be able to enjoy the incentives designed for export companies. For example, travel firms that can lure travellers to Viet Nam will get the 10% VAT refund.

Statistics show that 60-65% of international travellers coming to Viet Nam in the recent past booked tours through international travel firms.

Second, how can we encourage Vietnamese people to travel now, when luxury hotels do not have many clients? As hotels have been slashing their room rates, domestic tourists can stay at 5-star hotels and only have to pay 3-star rates.

Third, about visas. We are bilaterally waving visas for tourists from seven countries in the ASEAN bloc and unilaterally waving visas for tourists from four North European countries, and two Asian countries, Japan and South Korea.

Viet Nam now collects $25 for visa fees, but in some cases, travellers have to pay more. The land visa granting (visas granted at border gates) also has not been going very well.

Fourth, I want less luxurious hotels (three-star and under) to be able to borrow money to upgrade their hotels in order to settle the hotel room shortage and help slash room rates.

Besides, we need to subsidise some products. VNAT has found out that in the last ten years, 65% of tourists have come to Vietnam to do sightseeing, rejuvenate themselves and do shopping.

In 2009, in the high season, international travel firms will receive a 20% subsidy when they book groups of more than five travellers who stay for at least four nights at hotels. Together with the hotel room rate decrease commitment, the subsidisation will help tour fees decrease, while still ensuring tours’ quality. Travel firms will also be able to receive 30% subsidies on MICE products.

Do you think that the subsidisation scheme will lead travel firms to declare incorrect numbers of tourists?

It is really very simple to implement the subsidisation scheme. Those who commit fraud will be punished by law.

How will foreign travellers benefit from the VAT refund?

This is, in fact, a kind of way to reduce tour fees.

How can we encourage people to travel now, when luxury hotels have few clients? I have suggested that businesses and agencies spend money on their staffs’ travelling, and the sums of money be considered expenses, not taxable income. This is really a big project which would greatly encourage travelling, if it is accepted by the government.

Nguyen Thanh Vuong, Deputy Director of the Market Department under VNAT
(Tien Phong)