At the World Travel Awards (WTA) Asia & Australasia Gala Ceremony 2018 in Hong Kong (China), Vietnam was honored in one of the most important award categories – the “Asia’s Leading Destination“ category. Accordingly, Vietnam’s tourism growth rate ranked sixth in the world and topped Asia. Along with the national awards, a number of Vietnam’s tourism service providers including Vietravel, the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, Sun Perinsuda International Resort in Da Nang and Naman Retreat Resort in Danang, were also honoured with top awards in the region.
The results demonstrate an obvious advance in quality and the efforts of Vietnam’s tourism industry during the long journey of creating a foothold in the world tourism map. However, according to experts, although Vietnam’s tourism sector has shown a good appearance and brought significant benefits to the country, the development of Vietnam’s tourism is still not commensurate with its potential and is facing warnings on the risk of unsustainable development and waste of resources. According to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2017’s Tourism Competitiveness Report, Vietnam has jumped eight levels compared with two years ago. However, Vietnam is very short of unique, innovative products, with appropriate market demand. In Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, where are identified as the tourist capitals of Vietnam, there is also a lack of tourist products after 6pm for tourists. The monotonous, repetitive products of tourism in the provinces and cities in the same area are easy to see. This is the “bottleneck” on the “journey” to upgrading the quality of tourism in Vietnam.
Aiming to find solutions to overcome the “bottleneck”, the conference “Creative in tourism products – from ideas to business reality” was organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) in Ho Chi Minh City, under the framework of the Ho Chi Minh City International Travel Expo (ITE HCMC) 2018. The Deputy Head of the VNAT, Ha Van Sieu, affirmed that innovation in tourism products in the right direction will help increase the value of tourism resources, thereby creating a distinct platform in the competitive advantage of tourism among nations, especially in the context of deep integration and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (also known as Industry 4.0) which is spreading across the globe. Innovative tourism products are expected to help to reduce the focus on traditional tourist destinations, evenly distribute the tourist space, and reduce overcrowding and current imbalances. It is also an important direction to restructure the tourism industry to meet the development needs in the new situation.
In fact, in previous years, Vietnam had the tourism products with creative elements such as “Becoming residents of Hoi An during one day” tour and the “Ripe rice season” tour in Duong Lam ancient village. In order to gather the elements of innovative tourism products such as: having different ideas, creating impressive emotions in the experience for visitors and creating high added value, until recently, Vietnam also had outstanding products. Typical highlights include the Hoi An Impression Theme Park, which was opened not long ago, with the ‘Hoi An Memories’ show. The show brings viewers the emotion and special experience of a unique art product imbued with the national identity of Hoi An, a land of rich history and culture. Or the art show entitled ‘The Quintessence of Tonkin’ – the first outdoor visual arts performance in Hanoi, which is staged with a sound system, modern light technology, and a large number of performers. The project explores six aspects of the cultural essence of the Tonkin, including Poetry, Buddhism, Nostalgia, Music and Painting, Joy and Festivities. Recently, the Golden Bridge built in Da Nang suddenly emerged as a phenomenon not only for the Vietnamese but also for travellers from around the world due to its majestic and impressive nature.
Creating innovative products is not enough, the key is how to make these products last and grow. According to experts, it is necessary to involve state management agencies in making policies, the courage of investors in investing in new products, and the role of travel agencies in connecting and promoting travel, as well as the role of the media in promoting travel produces and community involvement. In addition, according to Jason Lusk, the project Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST), creativity is necessary to create a unique impression that attracts visitors but in order to develop well, it is necessary to be accompanied by environmental protection and natural resources, especially when Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest tourism growth rate in the region and the world. The Deputy Head of the VNAT, Ha Van Sieu also emphasised that creativity in tourism must go together with sustainable development, increasing the value of tourism resources but using originality of destination as resources of creativity.
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