European market

Tourism sector urged to further tap European market

The EuroCham Tourism and Hospitality Sector Committee has called for Vietnam's tourism officials and companies to prepare proper products and improve the environment to attract more European travelers.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily on Tuesday, committee chairman Miquel Angel Perez said European travelers needed customized packages and urged local travel officials and companies to prepare for this if they were to win more European tourists.

Perez said more Europeans would come to Vietnam to look into the country's history, visit nice mountains and beaches, Halong Bay, and explore the culture of minority ethnic groups.

"Vietnam has a lot of potential to attract European travelers," Perez said. He stressed it was also good for Vietnam to promote its cuisine as it is not spicy so everybody can eat it.

Perez said figures showed more than 500,000 Europeans visited Vietnam last year, and expected the number to near 600,000 this year. About 80% of the Europeans to Vietnam are leisure travelers and the rest come for business and family visits.

He said France was Vietnam's biggest source of European travelers, contributing 65,000 in the first four months of 2008 and hopefully 200,000 in all of 2008. German visitors are expected to reach 180,000 this year.

Perez said tourists had emerged from the Eurozone with some 130,000 from the United Kingdom this year, 30,000 from Holland, 25,000 from Italy, 20,000 from each of Spain, Norway and Switzerland, 60,000 from Russia, 50,000 from Sweden, more than 18,000 from each of Belgium and Finland.

Perez said Europeans went on holiday for two to three weeks, booked package tours worth a minimum of 3,000-4,000 euro and spared US$2,000-3,000 for their own spending.

He proposed Vietnam map out plans to attract medium, medium-high and high-income European travelers as "they have good budgets" to do the shopping when they were in Vietnam.

Many Europeans now travel to the United States because of the euro rise against the dollar, but also like to come to Vietnam, Perez said, so now is a good time for Vietnam to woo more Europeans and try to turn the low season here into the high season for European vacationers as summer is a holiday time in the continent.

The number of European visitors to Vietnam is forecast to continue growing next year, Perez said. Amidst concerns over a slowdown in international tourist arrivals in Vietnam this year, he projected an increase of 10% in European arrivals this year.

The Vietnam National Administration for Tourism said the country attracted 2.62 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 160,000 visitors.

Perez attributed the slower-than-expected increase in international arrivals in Vietnam to the world economic downturn as well as rising costs in Vietnam.

However, Perez believed international tourist, arrivals would grow when things got better as a result of tourism-supported events such as the Miss Universe 2008 in Nha trang earlier this month and the 28th ASEAN Tourism Forum, the biggest tourism event in the region scheduled in Vietnam in early 2009.

Perez also insisted the country fix problems with human resources, underdeveloped infrastructure, environmental pollution, disturbance by vendors and lack of long-term marketing programs. He also suggested visa exemptions for Europeans, like in Thailand where they did not need to apply for a visa if they stayed no more than one month.

(Source: SGT)

Tag: Cuisine , Culture , Environment , Halong , Holiday , International , Nha Trang , Tour , Tourism , Tourist , Travel , Vietnam

Tourism sector urged to further tap European market

Lastest News


Beauty contest tells it straight - Miss Angel 2008 Miss Angel 2008, an unofficial beauty contest for gay men and transsexuals held last Sunday in Hcm city was similar to similar kinds of events in Viet nam except for its focus on HIV/AIDS prevention.
VN vows to preserve Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng World Heritage Site The 5th anniversary was held on July 26 in Quảng Bình Province to celebrate the UNESCO recognition of Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park as the World Natural Heritage Site.
A Mekong Tourism Development Association The year 2008 is Mekong Delta National Tourism Year and the delta region is attracting many domestic and foreign visitors with a variety of tourism activities.
Making festivals the inhospitable way - Can Tho City Speech after speech usher in the national tourism year in Can tho city followed by the opening ceremony made colorful with vivid dances and music shows on the stage.
Travel sector anticipates decline in int’l arrivals - Vietnam travel Vietnam's travel industry foresees a decline of international arrivals in the rest of this year due to rising costs, and the course is unchangeable unless strong publicity efforts are taken, according to a seminar over the weekend.
Khmer cultural festival to take place in Can Tho The fourth Khmer cultural, sports and tourism festival will take place in the Mekong Delta city of Can tho in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the Ministry of the Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Bui Xuan Phai Foundation launched The Bui Xuan Phai Foundation, named after the venerable painter, was launched on the occasion of his 20th death anniversary on June 20.
Countryside waving in Mekong Delta Thank to typical features, waterways in the Mekong Delta are attractive for not only international travelers but also locals.
Vietnamese artist enters int’l manga finals Two Vietnamese painters, Nguyen Thanh Nhan and Truong Quang Toan, entered the finals of the second International Manga Awards in Japan.
Code red for wildlife - Vietnam Red Data Book The number of endangered wildlife species in Vietnam has increased in recent years, according to the latest edition of the Vietnam Red Data Book.
Guidebook promotes top 100 attractions The Hcm City-based Tre (Youth) publishing house has published a special guidebook featuring 100 top tourist sites in cities and provinces across Viet nam
Mekong firm aims to launch airline - Mekong Air Kien Giang-based Mekong Aviation Joint stock Co has submitted an application to the Civil Aviation Administration of Viet nam (CAAV) to launch carrier Mekong Air
The ups and downs of life as seen by a Scottish artist An exhibition of 14 abstract paintings titled Strikes and Gutters by Scottish artist Daniel Joel Hume is now on at Himiko Visual Cafe in Hcm city
Martial art festival draws over 30 nations Over 50 martial art groups from 30 countries have registered to take part in an international festival scheduled to take place in Binh Dinh province by late July and early August.
Festival Honors Vietnamese Revolutionary Press Day A festival honoring Viet nam Revolutionary Press Day, June 21, will be held at the Ho chi minh city Youth Cultural House on Saturday.
Viet Nam Takes Part in Music Festival in Budapest A delegation of artists and singers from Ho chi minh city will travel to capital of Hungary on Thursday to perform in a music festival titled “Goodbye Budapest”.
Foreigner tells interesting story about Vietnamese music Jason Michael Gibbs, an American working at the San Francisco Public Library, California, tells an enjoyable story about Vietnamese music in his “Rock Hanoi and Rumba Cuu Long - A story of Vietnamese music” book, which has been translated into Vietnamese by translator Nguyen Truong Quy.
First Five-Star Hotel to Go Up in Can Tho Authorities of Can tho have decided on the building of the first five-star hotel in the city, the hub of the Mekong Delta.
MTCO Seeks Executive Director - Mekong Tourism Coordination Office The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) comprising the countries of Cambodia, China PRC (Guangxi & Yunnan), Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam with the support of their development partners is seeking an Executive Director to lead the Mekong Tourism Coordination Office (MTCO) and steer the implementation of the programmes and projects as identified within the Mekong Tourism Strategy.
Children’s Painting Contest Honors President Ton Duc Thang - Ho Chi Minh City Fine Art A painting contest entitled, “Children and President Ton Duc Thang” has will be held to celebrate the late president's 120th birthday on August 20.
New library gives researchers a home in capital - Vietnam library The Viet nam Education Foundation Fellows Association (VEFFA) and Ha noi University of Technology (HUT) will jointly open a library tomorrow.
SuperStar Gemini brings over 1,000 foreign visitors to HCM City - Saigontourist Travel The Saigontourist Travel Service Company welcomed 1,145 foreign tourists and crew from the SuperStar Gemini cruise ship, which docked at Saigon Port on June 6th.
Vietnam, Austria eye closer cooperation in training tourist manpower - Vietnam tourism Continuing his Austria tour, on June 4, Vietnamese State President Nguyễn Minh Triết and his spouse visited Krems, a 1000-year-old city, and the Danube-University Krems which is working with the Huế University to Train bachelors of arts in tourism administration and entertainment.
Hue Festival 2008 opens tonight The event will open with a special art and music show at 8pm tonight, June 3, at Ngo Mon Square in Hue city