Communications expert Le Quoc Vinh stated that to create a breakthrough for the tourism industry, it is necessary to have inspirational campaigns and focus on strategic segments.

Premise for Vietnamese tourism to "breakthrough"

In 2023, Vietnam welcomed 12.6 million international tourists, far exceeding the initial target of 8 million. The number of domestic tourists also reached 108 million, exceeding the plan by 5.8%. Although it has not returned to the level before the Covid-19 pandemic, this result is quite impressive, showing Vietnam's rapid recovery as well as its ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Some markets have returned such as Korea, Japan, Taiwan and some markets have shown signs of attractive growth such as Thailand or India. However, the traditional market of China is still below potential for some reasons. Overall, we can be confident of good growth in 2024. Some significant activities attract tourists such as the River Festival in Ho Chi Minh City or the Fireworks Festival in Da Nang.

Over the past year, a number of new hotels and resorts have opened or returned to bustling operations after a period of stagnation due to the economic crisis and pandemic. Travel agencies, accommodation services and airlines have done a lot of activities to stimulate tourism.

However, there are still some issues that need to be improved. For example, businesses focus more on price reduction measures to compete, while investing less in upgrading quality and diversifying products. High-end services for customers with high spending ability are not many, or have not attracted the attention of target customers. Tourism promotion and advertising activities are still scattered, lacking inspirational campaigns and focusing on strategic segments, so they have not created breakthroughs.

Businesses have not had the opportunity to cooperate with the government in communication and promotion activities, so they are still wasting a lot of resources. The visa issue is expected to be greatly improved this year. The widespread application of the e-visa policy will significantly reduce psychological barriers for foreign tourists. That will be a new "boost" for the Vietnamese tourism industry.

With the impressive acceleration of the tourism industry since the end of 2023, especially the positive signals in the beginning of the new year 2024, it is a premise for Vietnamese tourism to "breakthrough" in 2024. However, in the recovery journey, Vietnamese tourism still faces many challenges and gaps in policies as well as the competitiveness of domestic enterprises.

International tourists visit Hanoi's Old Quarter by cyclo. (Source: Hanoimoi)

Need innovation in promotional campaigns

2024 will have many reasons to attract foreigners to Vietnam, such as the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, the liberation of the capital, and the pivotal year towards the 50th anniversary of peace and national reunification. In the context of many economic difficulties, I believe that the demand for tourism to Vietnam will increase. Even domestic tourism will have new breakthroughs.

However, to achieve growth expectations, tourism promotion must be innovative, in which resources need to be focused on key markets, according to each in-depth marketing campaign. For example, we know that the Chinese market plays a very important role in the tourism acceleration strategy, so there needs to be a whole promotional campaign aimed at this market and targeting middle and high income groups.

The European and US markets are also expected to have a strong breakthrough and also need their own marketing campaigns. In my opinion, it is necessary to reduce general, widespread, and unfocused promotional activities. We should no longer promote tourism through the image of the country and its people in a general way. Instead, we must focus on outstanding values ​​in a long-term brand building strategy. At the same time, choose unique characteristics for each short-term campaign, targeting each potential customer segment. The communication campaign must be focused, with a simple message, promoting a single and different value, to create a great attraction effect.

In particular, each tourist area will have its own strengths. Therefore, it is necessary to find out whose problems those strengths solve, where, how, and design specific tourism products to serve that purpose. Of course, those new products must be part of the existing tourism ecosystem, enriching tourism products that are already strengths.

In fact, the needs and preferences of tourists have changed, so the tourism industry must also change accordingly, creating more suitable products. If our country's tourism wants to increase the rate of visitors returning, it needs to understand and take advantage of the advantages of cultural heritage, cuisine as well as natural beauty, thereby building quality destinations. I see that countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia... have modern, methodical and constantly innovative tourism promotion systems. They are flexible in making quick decisions and deploying them directly to target markets. Therefore, the Vietnamese tourism industry needs to quickly innovate, taking advantage of opportunities to break through.

In 2024, the tourism industry aims to welcome 17-18 million international visitors; serve 110 million domestic visitors; and total tourism revenue will reach about 840 trillion VND. Vietnam still has to compete with countries in the region, so tourism products will also need strategic adjustments. In particular, I believe that products targeting the high-spending segment will bring great efficiency. For the domestic market, cultural and sports events will be a driving force for young tourists.

Hoi An Ancient Town - a tourist city ranked among the world's cultural heritage sites. (Source: VGP)