Experts at the “What’s Next for Vietnam Tourism? Challenges and Opportunities 2021 and Beyond” roundtable at RMIT University Vietnam’s Southern Campus in District 7, HCMC, on January 20 – PHOTO: COURTESY OF ORGANIZER

HCMC - International and tourism industry leaders predicted a positive outlook for Vietnam’s tourism in 2021 and beyond when they discussed how to prepare the country to become a leading tourism destination after the Covid-19 pandemic at a roundtable at RMIT University Vietnam’s Southern Campus on January 20.

The experts proposed upcoming tasks that included investing in domestic travel, new tourism products, high-quality human resources, digitalization in tourism and infrastructure to help the country shine on both the local and international stages.

“I am certain that Vietnam will become one of the leading tourism destinations, not just in Southeast Asia but in the world,” said RMIT Tourism and Hospitality Management Senior Lecturer and Research Cluster Lead Dr Nuno Ribeiro.

“We are already seeing the positive signs of these efforts with a very dynamic domestic tourism market, and the Government’s initiatives have been extremely successful in generating more demand for internal travel while maintaining rigorous health and safety standards,” added Ribeiro.

Le Truong Hien Hoa, director of the Tourism Promotion Center, said promoting domestic tourism and building up smart tourism in Vietnam were the major objectives in 2021.

“One of the main focuses of HCMC’s tourism this year is deploying joint programs with Vietnamese key economic zones and provinces as well as tourism-related industries to build up new tourism products and services to promote domestic tourism,” Hoa said.

“This year is also a good time for the city to implement smart tourism,” he noted, adding, “Our tourism database is playing a key role to ensure successful smart travel projects which need to involve many industries and fields in standardizing the data collection system and digitizing travel services.”

Deputy manager of Vietravel’s inbound department Tran Thi Thuy Trang advised that Vietnam should promote the country as a safe and attractive destination in the world.

“Not only the tourism and hospitality industry, but the Government also needs to showcase and promote the image of Vietnam as a safe destination so that we can increase the number of international tourists once the country’s borders reopen and travel normalizes,” she said.

The Grand Ho Tram Hotel and Casino Chief Operating Officer Craig Douglas stressed the importance of high-quality human resource development post pandemic.

“With several projects still moving forward in the country not only in the tourism industry but in other industries as well and the relocation of international manufacturing companies to Vietnam, the demand for human resources will be a big challenge and reinforce our people as the most valuable asset,” he said.

Organized by RMIT University’s School of Business & Management Tourism and Hospitality Management Program, the “What’s Next for Vietnam Tourism? Challenges and Opportunities 2021 and Beyond” roundtable featured experts in tourism and hospitality, aviation, tour operations, sales and real estate.

The event’s main purpose was to generate a positive dialogue between sectors of Vietnam’s tourism industry, so that solutions can be found together to move the country’s tourism forward after the Covid-19 pandemic.