Close connection, smooth coordination and comprehensive cooperation among ministries, sectors, localities, travel associations, and businesses are crucial to boost fast and sustainable tourism growth, stated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while chairing a conference in Hanoi on November 15 on promoting tourism development.

Chinh said that over the years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the Government has issued many mechanisms and policies to support tourism activities, along with measures to speed up tourism recovery and development, including loosened visa policies and reduction of power prices for tourist accommodation facilities.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the whole political system, businesses and the people as well as cooperation from international partners, Vietnam’s tourism sector has shown fast recovery and growth.

He noted that in 2022, the total revenue from tourism activities reached 495 trillion VND (20.39 billion USD), 2.75 folds that in 2021. In the first 10 months of this year, tourism was a bright spot in the country’s economy, serving 99 million domestic and 10 million foreign tourists, exceeding the yearly plan by 8 million visitors. Total earnings from tourism activities hit 582.6 trillion VND.

The Government leader highlighted Vietnam’s outstanding advantages and opportunities to boost tourism, including stable political and security situation, good infrastructure system, diverse natural landscapes, unique cultural identity, and sound relations with many countries.

However, he pointed out that tourism development has yet to meet the country’s potential, with modest number of visitors and poor tourism connectivity among ministries, sectors and localities as well as loose partnership between the public and private sectors, and a lack of large-scale tourism promotion activities.

PM Chinh underscored that the tourism development motto for the coming time is boosting the sector’s growth in a fast and sustainable manner, with smooth mechanisms, strong infrastructure system, and smart management.

The leader asked ministries, sectors, localities, and travel firms to foster their comprehensive and effective linkage with clear division of responsibility, promoting the orientation role of national tourism agencies, and forming tourism regions serving as driving forces for tourism growth.

At the same time, it is necessary to develop socio-economic infrastructure system and strengthen public-private partnership in tourism, and support small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as households engaging in tourism activities to speed up digital transformation and access capital.

The PM assigned specific tasks to particular ministries, sectors and localities in building the tourism planning for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2045 and removing difficulties in launching direct international air routes.

He ordered stronger efforts in human resources training for the tourism sector and building new and unique tourism products basing on the country’s advantages and potential, as well as greater attention to tourism environment management, heritage preservation, and smart tourism ecosystem development.

Chinh advised domestic travel firms to strengthen cooperation and mutual support to overcome difficulties.

The PM pledged that the Government will work hard to direct ministries, sectors and localities to provide best conditions for the people and business community to join hands in boosting fast and sustainable tourism development.

Participants at the conference gave various ideas to boost tourism development. Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Travel Association, proposed that the Government adjust policies that was issued in the COVID-19 period, while allowing travel firms to access soft loans from the State, restructuring the international tourism market, strengthening tourism promotion, and switching to green tourism and diversifying tourism products.

President and CEO of VietJet Air and President of SOVICO Group Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said that Vietnam should launch a national action programme to boost tourism, while building national-scale tourism promotion programmes, designing more favourable visa policy, investing more in technology application in enter-exit activities and e-visa issuance for international visitors, and paying greater attention to training high quality human resources for the tourism sector.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh, underlined the need for ministries and sectors to review their mechanisms and policies to support businesses and investors in the field of tourism. She said she hopes an annual meeting will be held for localities with relevant ministries and sectors to sketch out annual tourism development orientations.