11:33:49 AM | 21/7/2008
Vietnam plans to sp VND16 billion (US$970,000) advertising the image of its tourism on international news networks in the half of the year, said Vu The Binh, Director of the travel department of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
&ldquoThere should be a long-term plan for promoting publicity on international networks to always remind tourists of the countrys tourism image,&rdquo Binh added, revealing that tourism publicity programs would be aired on famous networks such as CNN, Discovery and those in Japan and South Korea.
&ldquoThis is the first time we have got such a big budget for advertising tourism on international television networks,&rdquo he said.
In early Oct last year Vietnam carried out its first tourism promotion program on CNN in the Asian region. The 30-second every night spot over three months was mainly for promoting tourist attractions like the World Heritage-listed sites of Halong Bay, Hoi An town and Hue, as well as HCM City. The program cost US$290,750, financed by the government.
Tourism companies have seen a positive impact of this program on the sector. Increasing publicity for the tourism sector outside the country is one of the important methods to attract foreign visitors, they said.
However, they said, the tourism authority should focus on a long-term strategy that could run well on limited funding.
Vietnam has five natural and cultural world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, including the complex of Hue monuments, Hoi An ancient town, the My Son sanctuary, Ha Long bay, and the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. It also boasts other world intangible heritages, namely the Tay Nguyen gong culture in addition to Hue royal music.
The country welcomed more than 2.5 million foreign visitors in the first half of this year, up 8 per cent over the same period last year. It is looking to 4 million-4.4 million foreign visitors and 19 million-20 million domestic tourists with total revenue reaching VND56 trillion, or US$3.5 billion this year.
Currently, tourism contributes 8 per cent to the country&rsquos GDP value, being considered one of the key economic sectors in Vietnam. (SGT, VietNamNet)
Vietnamese
