Mr. Tran Quang Hao
*In the report on the socio-economic situation in the first six months of 2017, tourism growth rate was rather gloomy, with regard tothe number of visitorsto Hue, stayingvisitors just roseby about 2% over the same periodof last year; the number of days that visitors stay was even falling, at only 1.78 days. As a person working in the field of tourism, what do you think about these figures. And in your opinion, what are the causes of this situation?
In my opinion, this situation has resulted from the following factors:
With regard to the traditional tourist market, most of the international travel agencies send visitors to Vietnam, with just a one-night tour in Hue, and this has been in existence for more than 5 years.
With regard to Vietnamese tourists and other new sources of visitors (Korean, Chinese, Thailand...), in the last 2 years, as the development of tourism in the vicinities such as Da Nang, Quang Binh has stronglyattracted visitors and shared their staying time, tourists have even visited Hue within a day.
Subjectively, this is because our media doesn’t work effectively, and enterprises are not strong enough tocollaboratively promotethe destinations. In addition, the tourism products have not been innovated,and the infrastructure is not really good either.
* For a long time, tourism has always been identified as a key economic sectorby Thua Thien Hue. In that general direction, have tourism enterprises in general and your enterprise in particular been facilitated todevelopby the local authority?
In Thua Thien Hue, the identification of tourism as the key economic sector has been heard for many years. And since mid-2016, this message has become more drastic, reflected through the establishment of Tourism Department with the people who used to work intourism before. The people working in the planning sector are also very determined, and especially the local leaders are well-informed.
Our Huetourist is the pioneer in putting new products into operation so as to meet a segment of European-American visitors to Hue; for example, experiencingon the lagoons, living with Hue gardens, ethnic minorities.... These types of tourism have been supportedin many aspects by the local authority. Especially, the legal corridor and administrative procedures at the Provincial People's Committee have been very quick and efficient.
* In many forums, the provincial leaders warned about and suggested eliminating the situation of "the leaders putting out the red carpet for enterprises, but officials at lower levels creating obstacles".In fact, has yourenterpriseever faced the "obstacles" when deploying products in the locality?
Rather than talking about "obstacle" cases, let me share you a solution: It is the "clear" and transparentfactor in the application process; the easier to access,the easier for the enterprises to go on. The "transparency" expected by the enterprises is that all procedures must be very specific. For example, the enterprises need to do one thing, then who they are supposed to meet, where they meet and whenit will be resolved... It is important to avoid the situation that though procedures are transparent, the enterprises still have to "run around" with theirapplications and do not know how to do next.
For medium and large projects, the specialists must be the "companion" with the projects, so that the enterprises can effectively implement them. This is not impossible as some other localities have done it.
In my opinion, with these two factors,any kinds of "obstacles" will definitely be cleared and the enterprises will be enthusiastic to join hands withthe provinceto develop.
The number of visitors to Hue in the first 6 months of 2017 increases very slowly
*You are the person responsible for managing the pedestrian street of Nguyen Dinh Chieu. Although the street has created a certain highlight for the city in the recent time, in the general assessment of many people, it has not been very impressive, as well as not proportional to Hue... What is your opinion on this?
We have done our best, called on, and supported the start-up groups, as well as the artisans to showcase, up tonow,more than 50 items of handicrafts, traditional crafts, and Hue specialties such as handmaderoyalsilver jewelry, Thanh Tien paper flowers,Sinh village paintings, bronze-casting products from Phuong Duc ward, “Zeng” cloth ofA Luoi, Tan Chau guitar, Phap Lam (Ceramic Enamel) paintings, Truc Chi (bamboo paper), Hue ao dai, 3D paintings, melaleuca oil, Hue royal cosmetic powder (phan nu), conical palmleaf hats, conical lotus leaf hats of Hue... We hope it soon becomesa street of Hue souvenirs and gifts. We have also selected a list of 30 typical items to form a showroom for visiting, shopping and also serving customers through online purchase.
It is a pity that the investors and business households are still cautious because the land lease contractsare signed annually. This is objectively due to the planning work on the two banks of the Huong River. And, we would appreciate a lot if the city can create a mechanism to solve this problem and giveassurance to investors.
From the angle of a travel enterprise, in your opinion, what are the ways to remove the "obstacles" so that Hue tourism can developcommensurately with its potential and strengths?
In my opinion, for the state management: It is necessary to attend to and immediately deal with the issues affecting the tourism sector; to collect information, analyze the needs of visitors to create the practical types of tourism; to assist investment enterprises in a transparentprocedure and with specialiststo accompany the projects; to supportthem to access to capital from banks; to havean overall planning and publicize it. In the planning, there should be a mix of key tourism projects with small tourism projects in the direction of community tourism, conservation of heritage, cultural villages so as to facilitate small and medium enterprisesin holding investment opportunities. It is also important to avoid relocation of people and to preserve land fund for the community. It is possible to spare 1/20 (5%) of coastal land in each district for this planning model.
For local people, media and enterprises: It is estimated that eachvisitor to Hue will benefit 6 local people. If this approach is emphasized more properly, each Hue citizen will be anenthusiastic and effective marketing facilitator for Hue tourism.
* Now, with regard to your enterprise, are you cherishing any products to jointly speed up the tourism "ship" of Hue?
Huetourist has invested in a lot of tourist coaches, trains and facilities for the Central Heritage Road Tour from Quang Nam to Quang Binh, in which Hue is the centre. In 2018, it is expected to welcome200 visitors to Hue/day and stay 2-3 nights. The tour has being selected by many partners and customers. It is booked online on: www.ticket.whr.vn
In addition, Huetourist has invested in facilities to complete a series of interactive tours with local residents, so as to meet the demand of visitors looking for new experiences in Hue and visitors returning to Hue. This product is introduced at: http://huetouristvietnam.com/html-tree/index.html
Thank you for the talk.
By Hien An