TMG – Vietnam has great tourism potential, and AmCham is in close relations with local partners like TMG to further promote beautiful Vietnam.
On November 11th, the signing of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of culture, sports, tourism, and creative economy between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham) took place. The US Ambassador to Vietnam Mr. Marc E. Knapper, AmCham Vice President Ms. Virginia Foote, AmCham Executive Director Mr. Adam Sitkoff, and MOSCT Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet were among the distinguished guests attending the special event.
On the momentous occasion, Mr. Adam Sitkoff shared his thought about how AmCham and its partners are working to promote Vietnam Tourism further.
- What is the importance of the MOU?
The MOU between AmCham and MOSCT is about strengthening our cooperation and moving forward under the same goals that the Vietnamese government has and the same goals that Vietnamese people have and companies that are in the tourism and hospitality sector.
- What is the potential of tourism development and cooperation between AmCham and Vietnam?
Vietnam is a country with great potential. It’s got great tourism potential. There are so many different parts of Viet Nam that people want to come to. They want to experience it for themselves. We promote that to the American people. American people love to come to Viet Nam. And whether that means going on a cruise ship in the Mekong Delta or flying on a seaplane and landing in Halong Bay, or going to hotels and resorts and beaches and mountain towns.
Again, there are so many wonderful places here, and it’s impossible for people to name what their favorite resort is in Viet Nam because there are so many great ones, and we want more and more people to come experience it. There’s so much opportunity here, and we just want to help strengthen that cooperation.
- What solutions are you considering to develop Vietnam tourism further?
The air links and flights between Viet Nam and United States, we think that’s important in terms of bringing in more capacity. And we work with local governments and the central government on everything from visa policy that’s important to tourists, to improving the skill set of people that work in the tourism sector, to our many partners that are in the private sector that can help bring tourists in and serve those tourists.
- How do you see the relations between AmCham and partners like Thien Minh Group (TMG)?
TMG is one of the favorite companies in Viet Nam. Mr. Kiên has built this company from the ground up. It’s in all sorts of different parts of the tourism and hospitality business. While most companies just focus on transportation or focus on hotels or a certain part of the country. And TMG is really focused on the whole country and creating the types of experiences that people are looking for, whether they are young people coming to Viet Nam or old people coming to Viet Nam.
And so TMG is, along with the companies it owns in the digital space, for example, is really of what we call really moving across the whole sector of tourism and hospitality. And that’s why it’s such an important partner of AmCham. And that’s why we work with companies like TMG who are creating those types of high-quality opportunities for people that want to visit Viet Nam and really see what the country has to offer.
- It’s almost the end of 2022. What do you think about Vietnam tourism this year?
Viet Nam is not hitting its tourism goals and potential for bringing people in. We see countries like Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia are all above their goal for tourists this year, and Viet Nam is only a little more than half. That’s why we’re working hard on reforms of visa policy.
For example, we want to make it easier for people to come here and let them stay as long as they want because there are so many great things to enjoy in Viet Nam. So anything that AmCham can do to help increase the tourism sector, to make it easier for people to come here, we’re looking for partners on that, and we keep working with our friends in the Vietnamese government on the type of reforms necessary to make that happen.
Everything from beaches and mountains to the food, to the design. There’s just a lot that this country has to offer. It’s why I’ve always enjoyed living here, and it’s why we look forward to working on this together with our partners.
Thank you, Mr. Adam Sitkoff, for your time and support for Vietnam.
