Domestic tourism meaning

The programme, themed “Seven localities – attractive and safe tourism”, will be implemented by Ho Chi Minh City and six other provinces including Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh.

Under the programme, the localities will enhance their cooperation to effectively promote and explore tourism products as well as stimulation activities such as the reduction of prices for accommodation services, entrance fees and vouchers for tourists attractions.

In Lao Cai province, Sapa is one of the destinations pioneering the second tourism stimulation initiative with a programme entitled “I Love Sapa”.

Accordingly, Sun World Fansipan Legend is applying the programme “Love Vietnam” with a free buffet lunch worth VND200,000 for tourists buying cable car tickets to the top of Fansipan mountain or a return ticket on the Muong Hoa train worth VND100,000 on all weekdays from now until the end of December.

In addition, Sapa town will welcome visitors with unique art performances by local artists.

In the near future, huge discounts and promotions will be offered by a series of travel businesses, hotels and restaurants in the town.

However, the locality will continue to strictly implement measures to prevent and control the epidemic.

Da Nang has been the locality most affected by the second COVID-19 outbreak in late July. Once the epidemic was brought under control, the city’s tourism sector launched the campaign “Da Nang misses You” campaign to attract tourists.

Ho Chi Minh City also has a programme themed “Hello Ho Chi Minh City” to introduce the image of a safe, dynamic and friendly city. Accordingly, tickets to tourist attractions and tourism service providers have been reduced.

Meanwhile, Quang Ninh province issued a stimulation package worth around VND100 billion; offered a 50% discount on tickets to destinations in Ha Long Bay, entrance fees to famous sights and selected accommodation in the locality.

On the occasion, Binh Thuan and Khanh Hoa provinces have also developed many new tourism products as well as expanding their stimulation programmes to attract more visitors.

Located nine kilometres from the centre of Buon Ma Thuot city, Kontam tourist site is an attractive destination for tourists, particularly at weekends and public holidays.

Covering a total area of 17 hectares and hosting magnificent hills, mountains, waterfalls, springs, valleys, and accommodation facilities imbued with the typical culture and architecture of the E De ethnic group, Kotam welcomes more than 400,000 tourists every year.

According to Deputy Director of Dak Lak provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dang Gia Duan, the launch of the Kontam tourist site has contributed to preserving and promoting the distinct culture of the Central Highlanders while reducing poverty and generating income for local ethnic minority people.

The successful tourism model was made possible thanks to a joint effors of a group of five female entrepreneurs five years ago. They are Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thi Hue, Nguyen Thi Phuc Minh, Vu Thi Xoan and Doan Uyen Thao, directors of five companies operating in trading, processing and exporting agricultural products, honey and mechanical equipment.

The quintet are also enthusiastic members of the Dak Lak Female Entrepreneurs club, headed by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, which has actively participated in charity activities in the locality.

They came up with the idea of building a model which can help locals reduce poverty in a sustainable way. The Kotam ecological site was born, surrounded by the E De ethnic people’s villages, including Pak, Kotam, Krong A, and Krong B.

As the owner of Quang Anh Trade Ltd. Co, one of the top companies with the highest revenues in Dak Lak, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh was appointed the Director of the Kontam Community-based Tourism Joint Stock Company.

Not long after its launch, the Kontam company had attracted 35 members from the Dak Lak Female Entrepreneursclub , who poured a large investment into the construction of the tourist site.

Traditional long stilt houses of the E De ethnic people at the Kontam tourist site (Photo: Vietnam Pictorial)

According to Ngoc Anh, from the beginning, the project team has kept in mind that the ultimate goal of the project is to protect the environment and pristine beauty of the natural landscape while honouring the cultural identity of the Central Highlanders.

Therefore, the traditional long stilt houses of the E De ethnic people were constructed at the site and all staff members at the site wear an E De ethnic brocade uniform.

Thanks to its amazing scenery and landscapes, Kotam quickly became an alluring tourist complex for visitors from across the country.

Nguyen Thi Hue, a member of the Board of Directors of Kotam Community-based Tourism Joint Stock Company, said that the tourist site has the huge advantage of food self-sufficiency, providing tourists with a fresh and clean source of vegetables, meat, and fruit.

Visitors to the site can taste the delicious indigenous dishes of the Central Highlanders, including papaya flowers cooked with fish, grilled snakehead fish, pork grilled in bamboo tubes, and chicken salad with banana flowers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic saw complicated developments in the province, Kotam staff members donated quintals of vegetables to those working at the front lines against the pandemic.

In an effort to welcome back vacationers in the post-COVID-19 period, the tourist site has coordinated with training facilities on tourism services, hotels and restaurants to improve the skills of staff members.

Promotional activities have also been launched to further advertise the site to travel agencies and tourist companies.

Built with both enthusiasm and love for the homeland of the five female entrepreneurs, the Kotam tourist site has contributed to upholding traditional culture as well as boosting socio-economic development in Dak Lak province.

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Bac Giang, Lang Son and some adjacent provinces mostly use Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi. However, as Noi Bai Airport is becoming more overcrowded, when being asked for opinions on the master plan for airport development during the 2021-2030 period, Bac Giang authorities have proposed to turn Kep Airport into a joint-use airport for both military and civil aviation.

Bac Giang Department of Transport asked the Ministry of Transport to research the issue and submit the project to the prime minister. Kep Airport is located in Huong Giang Commune.

According to Bac Giang authorities, the northern region has three major airports including Noi Bai, Hai Phong and Van Don. However, as the travel demands increase in the future, a new airport or airport upgrade is necessary. Especially with plans to attract more FDI investments for the industry and tourism sector development. The demands for transporting goods to Lang Son Border Gate also has increased greatly so a new airport may be able to create a breakthrough for the local economy.

“Noi Bai Airport is over 150km from Lang Son and some remote areas in Bac Giang. It’s better to have a closer airport,” Bac Giang Department of Transport suggested.

The master plan for airport development during the 2021-2030 period, with a view to 2050, proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam aims to have 26 airports in total by 2030. There will be 14 international airports and 12 domestic airports. Five key airports will be Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Danang, Cam Ranh and Long Thanh.

The total number of airports have been reduced by two compared to the airport development plan to 2020 with a view to 2030. The two airports, Na San and Lai Chau will be built after 2030.

By 2050, Vietnam will have 30 airports including 15 international airports. The plan to build a second airport for Hanoi is estimated to be started in 2040 when the demands are high.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), newly registered capital, supplemented capital and capital contributions of foreign investors in the first four months of 2020 reached a total of US$12.33 billion, equivalent to 84.5% of the figure for the same period in 2019.

The decrease in FDI pledges in the four-month period was also less than the decrease in the three-month period. This is an indication that the decline of FDI inflow will soon end and it is expected to increase sharply in the near future.

According to economic experts, Vietnam’s successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic will be the driving force to lure FDI inflow into Vietnam in the near future. Not only FDI, Vietnam has the opportunity to attract investors who wish to relocate their projects.

American, Japanese, and European enterprises who intended to move their production out of China due to increasing labour prices and the impacts of the US-China trade war will accelerate this process amid the pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the transition process will also receive support from their own countries.

Specifically, Japan will spend approximately US$2.2 billion to support Japanese enterprises in relocating their factories to Japan or to diversify production facilities by moving to the Southeast Asia region.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift of production chains out of China appeared mainly due to the need to diversify the supply chain and to reduce risks of over-reliance on a single market, the increasing labour costs in China and especially the effect of the US-China trade war.

Amid the development of the pandemic, the trend has become more visible. The production in China has been recovering but production and transportation costs have become more expensive. The COVID-19 pandemic has promoted the shift of investment out of China, the restructuring of the value chain and the trend of bringing production closer to the consumer market.

When the US-China trade war began, Vietnam was forecast to be an attractive location for many foreign investors that may receive a wave of investment movement from China. However, Vietnam has yet to see benefits as expected.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung said that, from the perspective of globalisation, where has better financial efficiency and cheaper costs will attract more investment capital. China became the “factory of the world” because it met the conditions of investors. It means that if Vietnam wants to attract production chains, it needs to meet the above conditions, and even exceed them.

Regarding industry, it is necessary to revise the industrialisation strategy with specific plans for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2045, including solutions to help Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the global supply chain.

The “2019 Supplier Day” event, held for the first time by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the American Chamber of Commerce (Amcham) in Hanoi on April 25, 2019, attracted more than 60 Vietnamese suppliers and more than 300 businessmen, including representatives from large US enterprises. The event marked an important development step in the quality and scale of the programme on connecting global value chains in Vietnam.

According to US enterprises, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, particularly in the past two decades. American businesses have looked forward to doing business with Vietnam businesses, helping Vietnamese businesses to participate in global value chains. This was also the clearest evidence of the attractiveness of the Vietnamese market and the most specific opportunity that Vietnamese businesses need to seize.

In fact, there is a wave of enterprises moving away from China and looking to Vietnam, but about 90% of Vietnamese enterprises are currently not ready to provide services for international businesses.

On the other hand, Vietnam needs to have young and high-quality human resources. But Vietnam currently has an aging population and the supply of labour will only be able to meet the demand of the manufacturing and assembly industries in the next 10 years. This is a problem that Vietnam should have a solution for in the near future.

According to Dr. Tran Toan Thang from the National Centre for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast (Ministry of Planning and Investment), FDI attraction is very important but keeping investors, especially large enterprises, is more important. Incentives regarding tax, land, natural resources, and cheap labour can only attract foreign investors but it is difficult to keep them.

If Vietnam wants to keep foreign investors, besides open and transparent business environment, modern and synchronous transport infrastructure, and stable law systems, the country must have high-quality human resources, a large enough domestic market and a system of domestic enterprises capable of providing supporting industry products for FDI enterprises.

In its article, the leading financial newspaper of Japanese media giants Nikkei Inc., said Vietnam is targeting a growth rate of 6.5% this year.

The agency stated Vietnam’s exports will likely continue to be supported by US tariffs on Chinese goods and that in order to avoid US tariffs, importers have shifted demand from China to alternative suppliers, with this trend likely to continue.

According to the agency, before the pandemic, Southeast Asia achieved collective annual growth of about 5% for many years, making it one of the world’s best-performing regions.

The region also became an attractive investment destination, with a relatively young population driving demand and providing plenty of labour. These advantages remain in place, but first the region needs to stamp out COVID-19.

Nikkei also reported that Southeast Asian economies are aiming to this year regain the growth momentum they had before the COVID-19 pandemic caused historic declines in 2020. A look at early forecasts around the region, however, shows a wide range of scenarios as risk continues to lurk.

The agency said that Singapore hopes to achieve its forecast of gross domestic product growth of 4% to 6% for 2021, Indonesia expects GDP to grow by between 4.5% and 5.5% this year, the Philippines projects a growth range of 6.5% to 7.5%, while Thailand has lowered its targets, revising its 2021 forecast down to between 2.5% to 3.5% growth.

A year on since the Covid-19 pandemic first began Vietnamese are taking more control of their health and finance, driving greater interest in fitness and well-being along with insurance and retirement planning. — Photo courtesy of Manulife

HCM CITY — A year on since the Covid-19 pandemic first began Vietnamese are taking more control of their health and finance, driving greater interest in fitness and well-being along with insurance and retirement planning, as Asia looks to the longer-term impact of the disease, according to new research from Manulife.

The latest version of the ‘Manulife Asia Care Survey’ takes a closer look into customers’ concerns, priorities and aspirations, polling 4,000 people across the region who either own insurance or intend to buy it in the next six months, including around 520 in Việt Nam.

Nearly all (95 per cent) of those who worry most about Covid have made an effort on a personal level to improve their overall health, mostly through more regular exercise (58 per cent) and improved diet (54 per cent).

In Việt Nam, all the respondents said they had taken action to help them manage Covid, with 72 per cent saying this included doing more regular exercise. More people in Hà Nội (85 per cent) do more regular exercise than in HCM City (73 per cent).

Almost everyone is self-monitoring health, and Vietnamese pay the most attention to the number of steps walked (44 per cent) among the four emerging markets covered in the survey, against a regional average of 38 per cent.

Three out of five (60 per cent) of Vietnamese also own fitness wearables, well above the regional average of 46 per cent.

A large majority of Vietnamese (79 per cent) also said retirement planning has become more important since Covid-19 started, below the Philippines (90 per cent), Indonesia (88 per cent) and Malaysia (83 per cent) but higher than all the developed markets.

The regional average is 73 per cent.

This high level of interest in retirement ties in with their concerns about personal wealth.

In Việt Nam, more than half (52 per cent) thought their personal wealth would decline as a result of Covid-19. The rate was only higher in Hong Kong (58 per cent) and Singapore (55 per cent).

Aligned with taking better control of health and finance is an interest to buy new insurance.

In Việt Nam, a remarkable nine out of ten (91 per cent) said they intend to buy new insurance in the next six months, higher than anywhere else in the region. The regional average is 71 per cent.

The Vietnamese respondents were most interested in life, hospitalisation, accident and critical illness cover.

Three quarters (75 per cent) of Vietnamese respondents, again more than anywhere else in the region, said they prefer to manage their policies through digital means such as mobile apps, including for claims and payment.

The survey found that 71 per cent of them had spoken to an agent about purchasing insurance, well above the regional average of 64 per cent, with only Hong Kong (77 per cent) and mainland China (76 per cent) scoring higher.

“Vietnamese insurance customers are seeking more digital touchpoints that are safe, simple and convenient,” Sang Lee, CEO of Manulife Vietnam, said.

“While those digital habits are here for the long term, a good many still like to speak to their agents. This underscores the importance of our omnichannel approach, one that fully integrates digital, while maximising our human qualities of empathy, trust and a holistic understanding of our customers’ needs.” — VNS