Hanoi (VNA) ඣ– As one of the countries with the highest improvement in global tourism rankings, coupled with a relaxed visa policy, Vietnam's tourism is poised for robust growth, and a rapidly increasing number of international visitors.

Despite limitations and challenges, Vietnam’s tourism industry has a huge opportunity to attract international tourists to the country, especially for long-duration travel programmes, said Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet. Addressing a conference to disseminate new legal documents to accelerate tourism recovery on August 15 in Hanoi, Viet said it is important to quickly grasp new tourism trends and update business opportunities for tourism enterprises.

Turning point of green economy

According to reports from the World Economic Forum (WEF), despite being severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam's competitiveness in tourism has been improving, ranking 63rd out of 140 countries and territories, up 17 places compared to 2011. In 2021, it ranked 52nd out of the 117 economies, up eight places from 2019. Vietnam was evaluated as one of the countries with the highest improvement in global rankings. In order to accelerate the recovery and development of tourism in a sustainable manner, and implement Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW of the Politburo on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector, the Government has issued Resolution No. 82/NQ-CP. It outlines the main tasks and key solutions to expedite the efficient and sustainable recovery and development of tourism. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued Decision No. 440/QD-BVHTTDL promulgating the Vietnam Tourism Marketing Strategy to 2030, with the goal of promoting and positioning Vietnam as the leading attractive tourist destination in Southeast Asia; and Decision No. 1894 outlining a plan for developing night tourism product models. According to the Deputy Minister, the country welcomed 6.6 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of this year. Domestic tourists were estimated at 76.5 million in the review period. The country earned 416.6 trillion VND (17.4 billion USD) from the tourism industry. He said that the conference aims to enhance the role and responsibility of the sector in effectively implementing tasks and solutions, creating a high consensus in awareness and action of the tourism industry as well as relevant industries, localities, businesses and people. He highlighted the need for drastic action to create breakthroughs in tourism development, including seizing opportunities created by a more open visa policy to help the tourism industry develop rapidly and increase the number of foreign travelers and thus dollars spent in Vietnam. To create breakthroughs in tourism development, Viet emphasised the importance of considering tourists as the centre, products and infrastructure as the foundation, and modern services as the motivation for tourism development. It is also necessary to promote the dynamism and creativity of enterprises in tourism recovery and development, the official stated. Attention should be also paid to renovating business models and restructuring enterprises in connection with promoting digital transformation, innovation, and creativity, towards developing a tourism ecosystem and new tourism models, he said. According to Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Trung Khanh, the agency will actively implement the Vietnam Tourism Marketing Strategy until 2030, focusing on developing the national tourism brand, thus proving Vietnam is an attractive, safe, hospitable, and convenient destination for investors. The tourism industry needs to accelerate and take more resolute actions to make strides in tourism development, Khanh stressed./.