Vietnam targets big sustainable tourism growth

See the interview HERE

12million Euro project targets 43million tourists and 2.2million jobs

In a recent interview with TravelMole publisher Charles Kao,  Mr. Nguyen Manh Cuong, Vice Chairman of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism outlined a long term sustainable tourism strategy.

 Vietnam tourism is now targeting tourism growth from 6% to 10% of GDP.  The programme, worth 12.1 million EUR, is the largest one to support the tourism sector in Vietnam and will be implemented between 2011-2015. Said Mr Nguyen

They discussed Vietnam’s tourism master plan and strategy, sustainable growth and investment, the ‘numbers’, targets and more. In the short term Vietnam has set the 2015 target at 7 to 7.5 million international arrivals with domestic travel reaching 36 to 37 million earning US$10 to US$11 billion, creating as many as 2.2 million jobs.

By 2020, arrivals could reach 10 million international arrivals and 47 to 48 million domestic tourists, representing an average yearly growth rate of 11-12% over this period…by 2030, the country coulraise tourist arrivals to 20 million.

Recently, the first ever annual responsible tourism conference was held in the capital city of Hanoi on November 2, discussing challenges on the path to achieve a sustainable growth for the tourism sector of Vietnam.

The event was part of the "Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism Capacity Development" programme (ESRT), funded by the European Union.

At the conference, Mr Nguyen Van Tuan highlighted the its significance with its aim of raising the awareness on responsible tourism development in Vietnam.

The event brought tourism partners together into a course of setting their business targets without producing devastating impacts on the environment and cultural resources, he said.

Dr Ha Van Sieu, Director of the Institute of Tourism Development and Research, warned participants about the threat of mass tourism, which led to uneven development, pollution and the over-exploitation of natural and cultural resources.

Meanwhile, Katherine Muller-Marin, a representative from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said more efforts should be made to ensure that "tourism benefits can also be reinvested to preserve heritage sites."

The concept of a sustainable tourism sector, first introduced in the nation’s tourism development strategy three years ago, aims to maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits of tourism while minimising the costs to destinations.

According to the ESRT, tourism continues to achieve strong growth in Vietnam with total foreign arrivals during the first nine months of the year reaching 4.8 million. This reflects growth of 13 percent over the same period last year, despite the global economic slowdown.

Charles Kao and Valere Tjolle

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