Vietnam Launches Contest to Seek New Tourism Slogan, Logo

3:26:38 PM | 7/8/2005

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has launched a contest to find the new slogan and logo for the National Tourism Action Program in the 2006-2010 period.

At the press conference held in Hanoi on May 16 to introduce the contest, Pham Tu, deputy head of VNAT, said that the new slogan and logo is necessary for the local tourism industry to turn into one of the “spearhead” economic sectors in the next five years, determining the country as the recognized destination in the region and the world.

The new slogan and logo must allude to the distinctive, unique and impressive feature of Vietnam, stamping the country’s image in experiences of international tourists, particularly those from targeted markets, he said.

The action program for the past five years is said to have done a big job in attracting arrivals with the slogan of "Vietnam - destination for the new millennium" and the logo of a smiling girl with the palm-leaf conical hat and traditional long dress.

However, the tourism promotion campaign of the first period concluded with an added boring slogan of "Welcome to Vietnam" and a monotonous and obsolete logo of a stylized long-dressed girl, according to many experts.

The contest will run from May 16-September 27 with the award presenting ceremony planned for September 27, the World Tourism Day.

Online and newspaper-based voting results will weight heavily on the jury’s final decision, VNAT said, adding that the winner may be requested to alter their final submission in order to bring the logo/slogan in line with any alterations to the campaign.

Online submissions are available at www.vietnamtourism.com/slogancontest.

At the regional level, Vietnam's tourism potential is considered richer than most but the lack of a decision on a new and attractive slogan to head up aggressive promotion campaigns is just one example of the inertia of local tourism authorities.

The contest, thus, is hoped to create a new breath of air into the communist’s hospitality sector.

In a similar contest recently held by the local Vietnam Economic Times newspaper, foreigners suggested many impressive slogans for Vietnam’s tourism, including "Vietnam - Smile of Asia," "Vietnam - Flavors of Mind" and "Fantastic Vietnam".

Vietnam hopes that it will achieve a growth rate of 11-12 per cent annually to attract 3.5 million foreign visitors in 2005 and six million in 2010.