VIETNAM is embarking on a major tourism campaign starting in 2000 on the back of new airline services to the country.
The $20m campaign, called Vietnam – A Destination for the New Millennium is being launched by tourism officials, Vietnam Airlines and hoteliers at World Travel Market and aims to make Vietnam the region’s number one ‘must-see’ tourist destination.
It has the backing of the Vietnamese government, which set up a national steering committee earlier this year under the leadership of the deputy prime minister Nguyen Manh Cam.
The government has also pledged a budget of $100,000 to help tourism representatives attend trade shows, such as WTM. The campaign marks the first time that a government body has been formed to specifically promote the tourism industry, which has traditionally been fragmented.
With the new initiative, overseas visitor numbers are expected to soar from 1.8m in 1999 to 3m by 2002, increasing again to 8m by 2010.
The drive aims to promote Vietnam as a high-quality travel destination in the international marketplace, but is focusing on the UK and mainland Europe. Efforts have been aided by the government’s decision to make Danang, a coastal city in the centre of the country, its third international gateway after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Thai Airways began a thrice-weekly direct service from Bangkok to Danang at the start of this month, and early next year thrice-weekly flights are due to start between Danang and Hong Kong, operated by Vietnam Airlines. Direct flights from Singapore to Danang are expected to begin late 2000 or early 2001.
Paul Stoll, president of the Best Hotels Alliance in Vietnam, said these services will significantly boost international tourism figures.
He said: “This will open up Vietnam and help spread visitors more evenly across the country.”
He said the flights would be able to connect with the many flights from Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore into Europe.
But he admitted that Vietnam has got to shake off its negative image. “People still think Vietnam is at war, or mix it up with Cambodia,” he said.
Vietnam is still relatively new to tourism compared to other Asian destinations such as Thailand and the Philippines but it has already become a popular port of call for backpackers.
One of the major problems for overseas visitors to Vietnam is the necessity to obtain a visa.
Although it is almost unheard of for visas to be refused, the application process is time consuming and costly, around £40.
But, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has started to ease requirements and recently approved exemption of entry visas for 29 countries and made visas on arrival possible at Vietnam’s international airports.