(TITC) - On 12th October, at Hoiana Resort & Golf (Hoiana), Quang Nam Province, the Mekong Tourism Forum 2022 was officially kicked off with the theme “Rebuild Tourism, Rebound with Resilience”. Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism gave an opening remark at the event.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism speaking at the event (Photo: TITC)
Attending the event were Quang Nam Provincial People’s Committee; Heads of tourism delegations of countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion, distinguished delegates and guests.
Mekong Tourism Forum - Effective cooperation to promote sub-regional tourism
Sending out the warm welcome to delegates attending the Mekong Tourism Forum 2022, Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said, Tourism is a priority area in the framework of economic cooperation of the Greater Mekong Subregion, receiving much attention and support from international organisations, especially the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). In recent years, sub-regional tourism cooperation has received special attention from the governments of member countries, attracting the effective and active participation of international organisations, tourism businesses and related partners.
The Mekong Tourism Forum and related tourism meetings have been held periodically, contributing significantly to sharing experiences in tourism development, capturing information, enlisting and mobilising international funding to implement common tourism projects of the sub-region. In 2019, the number of international visitors to the Greater Mekong Subregion reached nearly 74 million arrivals, up 7% compared to 2018, accounting for about 15% of the number of tourists travelling to the Asia-Pacific region. In the first 6 months of 2022 when the countries of the Mekong sub-region opened up, we welcomed more than 3.2million international visitor arrivals.
Vietnam adapts safely, flexibly, taking the lead in fully opening up to international tourism
Vietnam in particular, was facing the challenges and heavy impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, VietNam Tourism has actively adapted to deploy many solutions to cope with the pandemic, overcoming nearly two years of upheaval along with the pandemic with the leadership and direction of the Party, State and Government and the active support of ministries, sectors and localities.
Many documents have been promulgated to implement the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister on measures to ensure safety to prevent and control the pandemic, while adapting safely, flexibly, and boosting demand stimulation and recovery of tourism activities. The tourism industry has been very proactive and made great efforts in implementing many solutions to respond to and minimise the impacts of the pandemic; At the same time, the tourism industry take measures and initiatives to attract the participation of many stakeholders in the industry to improve service quality, enhance promotion, build brand, and prepare for opening in a synchronized, planned and effective way to successfully navigate the turbulent times.
The decision to reopen international tourism with strong measures to be implemented from 15th March 2022 is very important, at the right time, made on the basis of solid foundations and important lessons learned in the recent pandemic prevention and control. It can be affirmed that Vietnam tourism has successfully been reopened to international tourism, recognized by UNWTO as the first Southeast Asian country to completely remove travel barriers related to COVID-19, emphasised VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh.
In the first 9 months of 2022, Vietnam welcomed more than 1.8 million international arrivals (according to General Statistics Office), served 86.8 million domestic visitor arrivals, with a total receipts of about 16.5 million USD. These figures confirm the recovery of Vietnam Tourism, especially when the number of domestic tourists in just 9 months has surpassed the figure of the whole year of 2019 before the pandemic. Particularly, in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Vietnam welcomed more than 110,000 visitor arrivals from GMS countries in the first three quarters of the year. It is believed that the number of visitors will continue to grow rapidly in the near future, when countries in the subregion are gradually removing entry requirements related to COVID-19 in turn, facilitating destination connectivity.
Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (Photo: TITC)
Strengthen cooperation, promote tourism recovery of Greater Mekong Subregion
Aiming to recover the tourism growth in the Greater Mekong subregion, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh indicated that 6 member countries need to maintain the strong cooperation to develop and build up diverse and attractive new products, attracting tourists from many segments. It is indispensable not to mention the coordination and active support of resources from state-owned investors for tourism infrastructure and training programs to improve the quality of human resources; as well as resources from private sector investors for tourism products and services, accommodation and transportation facilities. In addition to familiar partners such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the coming time, the Greater Mekong Subregion will actively seek and coordinate with new and potential investors to further develop the industry and turn it into a spearhead for the economic sector of the sub-region.
VNAT’s Chairman further stated a number of solutions for the sub-region's tourism to recover and develop in the near future: (1) Strengthening intra-regional linkages and cooperation: Member countries continue to join hands to effectively implement the Mekong Tourism Strategy 2016-2025, action plans and tourism projects in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, ensuring efficiency, science and brings back the highest results. (2) Promote effective public-private partnership and build new partnerships: Enhance the effectiveness of public-private partnership activities and attract more interest and participation of stakeholders in industry to create favourable conditions for tourists and a good business environment for businesses, expand connections within the tourism industry and also across industries to explore new ways of inclusiveness-oriented tourism development. (3) Promote communication and joint tourism promotion: Through the implementation of the GMS Tourism Recovery Communication Plan and joint promotion activities, the tourism industry of the Greater Mekong Subregion countries need to strengthen the organisation of communication campaigns and develop the Mekong destination brand to promote “Six countries, One destination”. (4) Developing and improving product quality, upgrading tourism infrastructure and facilities: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the needs and tastes of tourists, demanding tourist destinations of Mekong countries to sharply respond to the requirements of the new situation to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism industry. (5) Promoting digital transformation and application of information technology in tourism: The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance and benefits of digital transformation for the tourism industry. The Mekong Tourism industry needs to strengthen research, improve the efficiency of application of modern technologies to serve tourists, businesses and localities, support safe tourism and digital promotion.
VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh believes that to successfully rebuild the tourism industry, we need to act together with a collective effort towards the common goal of revitalising the Mekong tourism industry. As countries with the advantage of close geographical location, mutual trust and effective tourism cooperation mechanism, I believe that in the near future, the Greater Mekong Sub-region will recover strongly after the pandemic, affirming its position as an attractive common destination for international tourists.
Overview of the Forum (Photo: TITC)
On 12th October, the Mekong Tourism 2022 takes place with a number of significant contents: Expert Perspective “Sustainably Reviving Tourism-Mekong Reflections”; Panel discussions: “Social Enterprises: A Purposeful and Powerful Tool for Sustainable Tourism Recovery, Development and Promotion”, New Ways of Connecting Sustainable Tourism Suppliers and Buyers, Technology: Unlocking Green Tourism Opportunities, etc.
(Information to be updated).
Tourism Information Technology Center