The Thua Thien Hue Advisory Tourism Board (HTAB) has just been established in order to help the provincial tourism develop more effectively. Tran Trong Kien, CEO of Thien Minh Group and also known as the connection among the members of the Board on the works relating to the growth of Hue tourism in the near future, just had an interview with Thua Thien Hue News
What is the competitive advantage of Hue in your point of view?
Hue is a valuable cultural and heritage destination; In addition, Hue owns the diversity of geography, natural scenery, beach, mountains, rivers,…while many other localities only have one of them; It only takes 2-3 hours from Hue to get to the top tourist centers in the world such as: Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Macau or it only takes about 4 hours to get Japan. Moreover, its human resources are hardworking and able to access technology very fast.
The demand for travelling in the world is growing, especially the demand for sea and culture tourism has been increasing steadily; the development of information technology helps Hue reach more visitors; besides, there are more and more international investors interested in Vietnam market…Those are the opportunity for the development of Hue.
What should Hue do to overcome the “barriers” in tourism?
I think there are three immediate issues that Hue needs to focus on now. The first is the infrastructure of Phu Bai airport. A good airport will encourage visitors to come and maintain stable growth rate. Secondly, Hue tourism products should be diversified to increase the length of stay as well as the expenditure of visitors as current spending in Hue is low compared to the others in the area. Thirdly, associating with VNAT to promote Hue tourism to the key markets in the world by both traditional and digital marketing.
Could you please share your different point of view from the low cost tourism?
If Hue just focuses on low cost tourism , it will not achieve the most important goal including the improvement of labor productivity and the real prosperity of the people in long term. Hue will only “sell” what it owns, and in return, the environment and landscape will be destroyed easily
Hue must increase the quality of products if it wants to improve labor productivity; Hue needs to focus on the high-end markets.
Earning 1.8 billion dollars directly from tourism in 2023, whether this number is too much for Hue?
The HTAB aims to help Hue collect 1.8 billion USD directly and 6 billion indirectly from tourism. These numbers are practical if the number of visitors to Hue goes up to 6 million, length of stay is 3 nights and the expenditure is 100 US dollars per day.
If the index is possible, the labor income will increase 3 to 4 times, equivalent to 10-12 million Vietnam dongs / month. I would like to reiterate that this is the most important goal that Hue should aim at, thus ensuring its quality of life and real prosperity.
Could you please share the specific works that HTAB would implement for Hue in the coming time?
The members agreed to do the following five things: a long-term marketing strategy for Hue; consultancy on construction plans, investment promotion, capital mobilization and infrastructure development of Phu Bai international airport to attract more tourists; Studying solutions to invite investors to promote and exploit appropriately cultural assets to turn them into new and unique tourist products.
Specifically, the HTAB will base on the development models in the world such as Mexico, France … to make sure the balance between tourism development and preservation of heritage values; to establish the consultative group and strategic investors for investment in Hue; to evaluating the index of green, clean and safe for Hue, heading Hue to be the number one city in Vietnam.
I also would like to emphasize that the success of these solutions depend on the consensus and commitment of all levels from Government, enterprises and people in Hue.
You are known as the one to call the members including millionaires, leading experts in tourism, hotels, airlines … to contribute to Hue. What reasons are you devoted to this city?
I founded a travel agency in 1993. At that time, I worked as a tour guide and Hue was where I led the first delegation to. The first hotel in my business was also in this city. Hue has become a dear place where I always think as the second hometown. I am definitely trying my best to contribute to the development of Hue.
Thank you so much for sharing!
Source: Thua Thien Hue News
