Vietnam 'needs to learn from Thailand's grand tourism strategy'

Thailand's new " grand tourism strategy" is something Vietnam needs to learn from and could be an opportunity for Vietnam to welcome more international visitors, according to experts.

Prommin Lertsuridej, a top aide to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, said on November 19 that the government plans to relax visa policies for European visitors in a new "tourism grand strategy." Thailand also licensed nearly 3,000 events across the country in 2024 and plans to allow night entertainment venues in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Chonburi to operate until 4 a.m. from December. Airlines are adding more routes, reducing waiting times for travelers at airports.

Previously, Thailand temporarily exempted visas for visitors from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, and Taiwan during the peak tourist season at the end of the year.

Indian tourists explore the beauty of the rivers of My Tho, Tien Giang . Photo: Xuan Mai

Thailand's latest moves reflect its ambition to fully revive its tourism industry by 2024, aiming to earn $57 billion from international visitors and welcome 40 million visitors, equal to 2019, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

With open-door policies to attract tourists, many people believe that Thailand may "suck all of Vietnam's tourists" because this country "is becoming easier to visit and has more things to do."

Head of the Secretariat of the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) Hoang Nhan Chinh said this concern is "difficult to realize". Tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, inter-sectoral, inter-regional, even inter-regional within the continent. Thailand attracting many European tourists is also an opportunity for tourists to learn about similar destinations in the Southeast Asian region, including Vietnam.

General Secretary of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu Quoc Tri also affirmed that "it is difficult for tourists to flock to Thailand and not visit Vietnam". In recent years, tourism in Thailand has developed very well and "so has tourism in Vietnam". After spending time in Thailand, tourists will choose to visit other nearby countries such as Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

In 2008, when the National Tourism Administration began to count international arrivals, Vietnam welcomed more than 4.2 million visitors. That same year, Thailand welcomed 15 million, nearly four times more than Vietnam, according to   Worlddata. In 2019, the golden year of world tourism, Vietnam welcomed 18 million international visitors. Thailand welcomed nearly 40 million, more than twice as many as Vietnam. From the above figures, it can be seen that Vietnam's tourism industry has grown significantly in the past 10 years, narrowing the gap with Thailand.

Mr. Chinh said that the unique features in culture, history and people of each country cannot be replaced by another country. Vietnam "has the right to be proud" of its diverse natural beauty and many natural and cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2021 Competitiveness Index rankings show that out of 17 pillar indexes, Vietnam has 6 indexes in the world's leading group and many indexes are higher than Thailand's. In the Price Competitiveness Index, Vietnam ranked 15th out of 117 countries and territories, behind Laos (14th), Malaysia (2nd) in Southeast Asia. In the Security and Safety Index, Vietnam ranked 33rd, behind Singapore (1st). Vietnam ranked 94th in the Environmental Sustainability Index, higher than Thailand (97th). In terms of Government Priority for Tourism, Vietnam ranked 87th, Thailand ranked 88th.

"We have Ha Long Bay recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site, Thailand does not have it. Vietnam has many cultural festivals of heritage value, Thailand does not have as many," according to Mr. Tri.

However, experts also say that Vietnam needs to learn many things from Thailand.

"They are doing very well," said Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group and luxury tourism expert, about Thailand's new "grand strategy." According to Ha, Thailand "lives and dies with tourism," taking advantage of every opportunity to attract international visitors. Since taking office in August, Prime Minister Thavisin has identified tourism as the key to boosting the country's economic growth, according to the Bangkok Post.

Thailand also always has a clear strategy from short, medium to long term. In 2023, Thailand adjusted its target of welcoming international visitors in an ambitious way 3 times, from 18-20 million to 25 million and set an expectation of 30 million arrivals. Not stopping there, Thailand continues to set a target of welcoming 40 million visitors in 2024 by introducing more favorable visa policies, more attractive tourism products and expanding the market instead of relying on Chinese visitors.

According to Mr. Ha, Vietnam's tourism industry still lacks many things when compared. "We do not have a specific plan for next year, and do not consider tourism as a vital economic sector," he said. In addition, Vietnam still lacks brand positioning, does not focus on customers, and tourism promotion is not very effective when many tourists still search for information about Vietnam to visit. Besides, Vietnam still lacks many types of entertainment to serve each customer market, so that visitors can stay longer and spend more. Although Vietnam's visa policy is more relaxed than before, visitors can come easily but "are not happy because there is little entertainment," Mr. Ha said.

Vietnam needs to learn from Thailand about flexibility in strategic planning, adjusting plans and targets. However, according to Mr. Chinh, Vietnam "does not need to copy Thailand's approach" but needs to find unique and creative solutions to be able to fully recover tourism in 2024.

To do that, Vietnam needs to identify key markets, analyze market demand, find bottlenecks to attract visitors, and be ready to serve products suitable for that market. "If we have tourism products that only Vietnam has, we will always be attractive to international visitors," according to Mr. Chinh.

Vietnam also needs to focus on improving service quality, improving infrastructure, preserving and promoting cultural and natural values, creating unique and different tourism products, suitable to the needs and interests of the target tourist market.

Vietnam can also cooperate with Thailand and other countries in the region to build combined tourism packages, taking advantage of each country's strengths and creating diverse and rich experiences for tourists.

"Vietnam's tourism industry needs to consider Thailand as a direct and main competitor to overcome," said Mr. Ha.

Vnexpress.net