In an effortto boost tourism, Vietnam has organised many famtrip tours to many destinations. Vietnam Business Forum interviewed Doan Ngoc Tung, Vice President of Hanoi Unesco Travel Club, to learn about the effectiveness of the famtrip model. Giang Tu reports.
Recently, many famtrip tours have been organised, as Vice President of the Hanoi Unesco Travel Club, how do you evaluate the significance of the practices of Famtrip tours?
The strengthening of the organisation of the famtrip tour in recent years has helped enhance the competitiveness of the tourism industry. I highly appreciate all famtrip tours that were initiated and organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), Departments of Tourism, and other provincial departments in the recent time because of their high efficiency. Travel agencies that joined these famtrip tours will have opportunities to visit scenic landscapes and experience tourism activities and explore a series of new local attractions, destinations, restaurants and hotels, based on which they could build and promote sale of travel packages at reasonable prices.
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In the past, travel agencies often had to spend their own funds conducting surveys and researching new destinations like hotels, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment to serve customers' needs. Now, the famtrip model has participation of many management agencies and enterprises in tourism sector. Under present difficult economic conditions, tourism authorities and travel agencies have joined hands in organising famtrips, which is considered an effective form of the partnership for cost saving and feasible implementation.
The Hanoi Unesco Travel Club has held several Famtrips for domestic and international travel and media agencies to attractions such as Co To famtrip, Farmtrips to the Northwest, Phu Quoc, Buon Me Thuot, Quy Nhon, Bac Giang, Lang Son, Taiwan, Australia, Dubai, and the U.S. After the famtrips, we conduct evaluation on outcomes and get feedback from travel and media agencies to design the best tours. After each famtrip tour, many reports and articles of the attractions are posted and broadcast on television channels and newspapers of Vietnam and some other countries.
What should provinces do to develop and promote their local tourism?
Each locality has its own potential and advantages. In my opinion, localities need to have a plan to maintain and develop scenic attractions for sustainable development without destroying the natural landscape. In addition, they need to improve service quality. It is the leading factor to help them draw and retain visitors and make them stay longer. Besides, human resource is another factor. If these factors are fully developed, they will certainly have good outcomes. Through the Famtrip, travel agencies said that Vietnam has very rich natural resources and if the country could focus on solving shortcomings in services, people and infrastructure, tourism will develop strongly. Bac Giang has very specific culture with many cultural characteristic and its location is close to Hanoi. Bac Giang can design a day tour at reasonable prices for both foreign and domestic tourists. Lang Son is another attraction for organising conferences. Mau Son Tourism Area, which is known as another Sapa of the Northeast, is being operated. With natural incentives of the climate and sceneries combined with traditions and regional specialties, the tourism of Lang Son certainly will grow.
How do you think about effectiveness of international famtrip tours to Vietnam?
Many famtrip tours have been organised for international travel agencies and journalists to many places of Vietnam to visit, learn, connect and market tourism products of a number of local destinations. It is considered an important activity of tourism stimulus programme. Local tourism companies will have opportunity to advertise and seek new joint venture opportunities as well as exchange experiences with international travel companies after famtrip tours.
The province that has done this job best is Quang Ninh, known for Ha Long Bay, one of the world wonderlands. The province received five tour operators from Yunnan, China in 2010; 10 Russian tour operators to survey Vietnam’s destinations including Ha Long in late 2012; tour operators from Tianjin, China in May, 2013, and other tour operators from the U.S and Canada that are organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). Quang Ninh's famtrip tours are designed with rich contents such overnight cave tours on Ha Long Bay, tours to local spiritual, cultural, historic and gastronomic destinations, and business matching conferences between domestic tour operators and foreign partners. These famtrips have helped attract more tourists to Quang Ninh.
In September, Binh Thuan organised a Gala Dinner for local tour operators and international delegations of the famtrip to survey Binh Thuan's tourism products. As many as 50 tour operators from different countries like Russia, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Greece, Norway, the Netherlands, Austria, China, Hong Kong (China), India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Malaysia, and Egypt participated in the International Tourism Exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City 2014.
Famtrips are a good opportunity to promote local tourism so tourism departments and other responsible agencies should work closely to make famtrip programmes work well. And, tourism authorities need to assess effectiveness of famtrips in promoting Vietnam tourism.
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