The first provincial Tourism Advisory Board
Over the last time, Hue tourism has had a stable growth, but its quality has not yet been good enough. Hue tourism needs more motivations, institutions, human resources. That is the reason for the establishment of the Thua Thien Hue Tourism Advisory Board (HTAB) with the desire to help Hue tourism develop further, said Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Cao at the meeting.
According to Tran Trong Kien, General Director of Thien Minh Group, this is the first provincial Tourism Advisory Board nationwide. The board members are the leading experts in the field of travel, accommodation, communications, and aviation. The Board has the task of advising the Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee on management works, macro tourism policies, tourism development plans and programs…
The Board will forecast and propose the orientations for tourism development grounded on the world’s tourism development trends and the principles of responsible tourism to ensure the sustainable growth; identify and evaluate the specific issues that Hue tourism sector is facing; propose appropriate and feasible solutions through the survey, evaluation and collection of information on tourism activities, travel, hotels and other related services; support and mobilize other resources of the society in organizing activities to promote and create tourism products.
Hoang Nhan Chinh, Secretariat Director of the National Tourism Advisory Board, affirmed that the Board operates voluntarily in order to advise Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee on issues related to tourism development; acts as a connection between the Government and tourism enterprises on the emerging issues of Hue tourism.
Market Definition
Kien said that Hue’s strengths are culture, nature, people…However, it lacks the diversified tourism products and senior managers; In addition, its transport and airport infrastructures have not met the competition with the other provinces; Moreover, Hue branding hasn’t been clearly defined. The Advisory Board has just made the initial contributions to Hue tourism development based on the practical assessment.
In accordance with Kien’s analysis, Hue should formulate the policies of increasing the number of high quality managers; make the typical product chain combined with the title of green city; focus on upgrading infrastructure, especially the infrastructure of Phu Bai Airport; the capacity of the airport in Hue should be raised to 5-10 million passengers per year.
Adam Sitkoff, CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi agreed that Hue should upgrade the airport in the shortest time. He added that Hue needed a long-term investment strategy and the corporations from the investors. The forecast also said that Phu Bai Airport has an opportunity to develop as the airports adjacent to Hue will be overloaded in a few years.
All delegates deemed that Hue should define its own brand grounded on its strengths and future orientation. Based on that, Hue should segment the customers in terms of age, income, etc. to promote and make the suitable products. “The culture, cuisine, hospitality, Huong River, etc. are the comparative advantages of Hue, and are the brands that can create its “own identity” suggested John Tue Nguyen, Executive Director of Trails of Indochina.
According to Ho Kwon Ping, Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, Hue needs to create a “vitality” of heritages by formulating a clear co-operation policy with the private sectors. There should be a database and information to provide for each business upon its arrival in Hue for investment.
Vo Quang Lien Kha, Deputy General Director of Vietravel said: “I propose that cuisine will be the brand for Hue tourism in coming years with the slogan ‘Cuisine Capital.’ Hue cuisine accounts for up to 60% of dishes nationwide, so it is wise to promote this brand.”
Concluding the meeting, Chairman Nguyen Van Cao emphasized that the orientation of Thua Thien Hue is to focus on improving the quality and raising tourists’ expenditure. With the advent of the HTAB, Thua Thien Hue Provincial People’s Committee wishes to have the strategic contributions to develop Hue tourism in a sustainable and effective way.
