| Financial crisis knocks on door of tourism industry |
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| Written by Vietravel247 | ||||
| Sunday, 02 November 2008 | ||||
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It is
now the high tourism season, but there are not many foreign tourists
coming to Vietnam at this moment. The number of businessmen at big
hotels in HCM City has also decreased. The world’s financial crisis has
knocked on the door of the tourism industry.
Number of tourists down by 30%
According
to the Vietnam National Tourism Administration (VNAT), 315,000 foreign
tourists came to Vietnam in September, a decrease of nearly 50,000
tourists compared to September last year. While the number of tourists
from China, Russia and Germany increased slightly, the numbers of
tourists from the US, France, Japan and South Korea have seen
considerable decreases.
The
official number of tourists in October has not been revealed yet, but
the director of a travel firm said that the number might see a decrease
of 30%. Five-star hotels in HCM City and Hanoi say that the number of
clients staying at the hotels is smaller than during the same period of
last year, though it is now the high season for western tourists to
come to Vietnam on their winter vacation.
The
director of a travel firm that specialises in serving MICE tourists
complained that the number of clients has decreased by 50%. He said
that in previous years, it was very difficult to book hotel rooms, but
now travel firms can easily negotiate room rates.
Local
planning and investment departments in HCM City, Binh Duong and Dong
Nai provinces have also confirmed that the number of foreign investors
coming to learn about investment procedures has decreased. The staff
responsible for providing information at the Vietnam-Singapore
Industrial Zone Management Board said that if the board previously
received some 10 investors, it was now receiving only 3-4 investors.
Struggling with the financial storm
An
official from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of
Planning and Investment said that it is not a surprise to see the
number of investors decrease in the current difficult conditions.
“What we need to do now is to make a breakthrough to urge investors to disburse for licenced projects when they are considering the places to inject money into,” he said, adding that only by doing so can Vietnam prove that it is an attractive destination.
The official said that recently, a delegation of Nigerian businessmen came to
At
the Vietnam-Nigeria Business and Investment Forum held in Hanoi on
October 24 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mustafa
Bello, Managing Director of the Investment Promotion Committee, said
that Vietnam’s strong industries could be an attractive market for
Nigerian businessmen to export materials to.
Explaining
the reason that brought hundreds of Italian businessmen to Vietnam in
the last few days, Marco Saladini, Italian trade commissioner in
Vietnam, said that Vietnam is really an attractive market for Italian
investors as it imports several billion dollars worth of equipment and
production tools per year. Vietnam has caught the attention of
investors also as a fast-growing retail market in the world.
The
director of a tourist firm has urged state management agencies to take
action to attract clients in the current difficult period. “While other
countries have been trying to promote tourism,
The
director said that hotels owners in Vietnam should think about the fact
that room rates in Vietnam are still 25% higher than in regional
countries.
(Source: Tuoi tre)
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