HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Administration of Tourism (VNAT) is determined to develop the national tourism industry in a professional, sustainable way and upgrade service quality, said Nguyễn Văn Tuấn, head of the VNAT at a conference yesterday in Hà Nội.

The conference gathered representatives from tourism departments and travel companies nationwide.

Tuấn affirmed that improving the quality of tourism products and services is the key to developing the industry.

“We must focus on improving the quality of human resources training, that’s the core issue to upgrading service quality,” said Tuấn.

During the conference, representatives from the tourism departments of Đà Nẵng, Kiên Giang and Quảng Ninh provinces suggested setting up security cameras at tourists areas to cut crime, establishing free information centres to support tourists and building quality toilets.

With experience in serving tourists for 10 years, Trần Trọng Kiên, head of the Thiên Minh Group, said Việt Nam has potential to develop four main tourism products including culture - heritage, ecology, sea and islands, and urban lifestyle.

“First, we have to divide tourists into groups based on their income and age, when they travel and the duration of their trip; then we can choose suitable products for them,” he said.

For example, a family with children aged from five to 10 would choose places where they can swim in the sea, experience local culture and enjoy entertainment activities.

“So, when we analyse tourists’ demand and taste, we can provide them good products,” he said.

“To upgrade the quality of tourism products, travel managers should fill the needs of tourists, create unique products and satisfy tourists from the beginning when they apply for a visa to Việt Nam until when they leave,” Kiên said.

Vũ Hồng Sơn, vice chairman of Hạ Long city People’s Committee, said the city leaders would tackle travel businesses which provide poor services.

Five years ago, each ship carrying tourists to visit Hạ Long Bay was surrounded by local bamboo boats. They offered tourists souvenirs and seafood, annoying them according to Sơn.

“Now, the activity has been stopped totally in Hạ Long Bay,” said Sơn.

“We have tried to offer professional tourism services with high quality.”

Việt Nam has climbed eight spots to become the 67th most competitive tourism destination, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 released recently by the World Economic Forum.

Việt Nam scores well in terms of “natural resources”, “cultural resources”, “competitive prices”, and “qualified service human resources”.

The country was not highly regarded in “tourism infrastructure” and “tourism products”.

The VNAT mentioned the report and affirmed its determination to upgrade tourism products’ quality. VNS