The Marketing and Promotion Aspects of Vietnamese Tourism - Term Paper Example

Tourism Vietnam Name of the Student: Name of the Instructor: Name of the course: Code of the course: Submission date: Abstract Tourism has been considered as being integral to the economic growth in Vietnam. This report starts by exploring what tourism offers to tourists and proceeds to the stage of development of the tourism industry in Vietnam. In addition, it analyzes the market of Vietnamese tourism which has been largely taken by Japan, United States, China, Taiwan and Korea. Two types of tourists in Vietnam, namely allocentric and psychocentric have also been explored. The marketing and promotion aspects of Vietnamese tourism are investigated as well as the main impacts of tourism development in Vietnam. Major social and ethical issues which are faced by tourism industry and government in Vietnam are also analyzed coupled with policies in Vietnam which encourage sustainable development of the tourism sector. Lastly, major issues and challenges that confront the future development of tourism in Vietnam are explored and recommendation on solutions to address these challenges proposed. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 What Vietnam has to offer to the tourists 4 Stage of development 5 Tourists markets in Vietnam 7 Types of tourists 7 Marketing and promoting Vietnam as a tourism destination 8 Main impacts of tourism development in Vietnam 10 Major social and ethical issues faced by tourism industry and government in Vietnam 11 Policies in Vietnam which encourage sustainable development of the tourism sector 12 Major issues and challenges that confront the future development of tourism in Vietnam 12 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction According to the World Tourism Organization (cited in Anh, 2012, p. 7), tourism can be perceived as comprising the activities of people travelling to and staying in places which are outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for purposes of leisure, business or any other intents which are not related to the exercise of an undertaking remunerated from within the visited place. Tourism can be perceived as a growing sector which has made immense contributions to the Vietnamese economy (Anh, 2012, p. 1). This report will analyze the general account of what Vietnam has to offer to the tourists (using the 5As model) among other aspects which are explored in the subsequent sections. What Vietnam has to offer to the tourists This is founded on the Dickman’s 5As model which is based on attraction, activities, access, accommodation as well as amenities. In terms of attraction, Tourism Western Australia (2008, p. 1), cited that a tourist attraction can be perceived as a place of interest which is visited by tourists. This is normally based on its intrinsic or exhibited cultural value, natural or built beauty, historical significance, or amusement opportunities. In Vietnam, the major attractions include but not limited to historical places like Sapa (former French hill-station created in the 1920s), cities like Hanoi which is the capital and famous for its beautiful lakes, public parks and tree line avenues, national parks and world heritage sites among others (Discovery Indochina website, 2012, p. 1). In regard to activities, it is imperative to note that attractions are usually supported by a wide range of activities in Vietnam. These include long-distance cycling, elephant trek, surfing, hiking, horse riding, swimming and fishing in eco-tourist sites among other activities. Vietnam is also endowed with relatively easy access. This is founded on the fact that transport is needed for the physical movement of the tourists from their places of residence to where they are visiting. Vehicles are used to transport tourists to various destinations while cycling can be ideal as much of the country is flat and vehicles shortage makes for light traffic. Vietnam also prides itself with having a wide choice for tourists in terms of accommodation. This ranges from budget hostels to five star hotels which have experienced tremendous expansion in the recent decades to cater for the heightening demand in the tourism sector as well as the diversity preference. This is best epitomized whereby in Hanoi, while the Old Quarter offers a wide alley of accommodation with some historical attachment, hotels and hostels near West Lake offers scenic view of the largest lake in Hanoi. Lastly, in regard to amenities which have been perceived as the services which are necessary in meeting the needs of the tourists when they are away from their homes (Tourism Western Australia, 2008, p. 2), Vietnam has significantly developed in this area. This includes shopping centers, restaurants and cafes, emergency services and telecommunication services among others. Stage of development It is imperative to note that in the 1980 article, Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) model, Butler proposed a model which is widely accepted in defining the lifecycle of a tourist destination. This model is still being cited and used in the contemporary tourism research. According to the Butler’s Resort Cycle Model which explains the lifecycle of tourists’ destinations around the world (Weaver and Lawton, 2010, p. 268), the Vietnamese tourism can be perceived to be on the development stage. This stage is characterized by an increased number of people who are discovering a particular tourist destination. As the word spread in regard to the attractions to a particular destination, there is rapid growth of tourists’ arrival and there is concurrent increase and improvement of the amenities in this particular region to accommodate the increasing demand (Weaver and Lawton, 2010, p. 268). This can be perceived to be the case with Vietnam in the present times. This fact is supported by Suntikul et. al (2007, p. 17) where they determined that the number of visitors in Vietnam have continued to exhibit continued and steady increase in the recent years. This is evidenced by the fact that in 2011, Vietnam received around 6 million international tourists, which is 2 million more when compared to 2010. Similarly, amenities and accommodation has experienced massive growth in recent years, a trend which has been propelled by increased foreign direct investment (FDI), elevated privatization of the tourism sector as well as increased competition which has been key in elevating the level of innovation and creativity in the tourism sector. The heightened trends towards increased investment in the hotel industry have been evident in the recent decades. All these trends characterize the development stage of the tourism sector in the contemporary Vietnam. Nonetheless, much needs to be done in order to sustain these trends in the future. This is considering the fact that there has been increased competition in world tourism with each country making extensive efforts to promote their tourism industry. This calls for increased collaboration and coordination between the government and the private sector to boost tourism in Vietnam. Tourists markets in Vietnam Different countries have evolved into becoming major tourist markets for Vietnam. These include but not limited to Japan, United States, China, Taiwan and Korea. These five countries and territories contribute the highest number of foreign travelers to Vietnam (Anh & Cooper, 2008, p. 37). These countries have continued to portray increased importance in the Vietnamese tourist market which has been prompted by the increased number of tourists getting into Vietnam from these countries. This is best exhibited by Japan whereby according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), the number of Japanese tourists exhibited rapid increase in 2000, 2001 and 2002, attaining a peak of almost 280, 000 in 2002. Despite the decline to 210, 000 in 2003 which was attributed to SARS and Avian Flu, this increased again in 2004 and 2005 by 20% to reach and impressive 320, 605 and 383, 896 in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In addition, this upward growth was experienced in 2007 reaching 411, 557, an increase of 7.20% compared to 2006 (Anh & Cooper, 2008, p. 37). Types of tourists This is typologies will be based on the Plog’s Psychographic Typology as portrayed by Weaver & Lawton, p. 167). This typology divides people along a continuum, ranging from the allocentric to psychocentric (Mohamed, 2005, p. 61).Both of these categories of tourists are evident in the Vietnamese tourism market. In regard to the allocentric type, persons in this group of tourists look for thrills or adventure in their activities. They are usually ready to take risks and are not afraid of dangers in their undertakings. These are mostly the young tourists who have an inclination towards adventures and seeking new challenges. This category of tourists predominantly engage in activities like surfing, hiking, scuba diving and elephant trek among other activities. These undertakings are considered to be adventurous and endowed with a lot of fun for the allocentric type of tourists. The other category is the psychocentric type of tourists. These are usually concerned about their safety/security and are bound to take few risks. They are often considered as being fearful and reserved (Weaver & Lawton, p. 167). This category comprises of the elderly and children who tend to engage in activities which are prone to minimal risks. These include cycling, fishing in eco-tourist sites and visiting national parks among other activities. Both of these types of tourists are important in not only increasing the number to tourists visiting Vietnam but also in promoting the tourism diversity in the country. Marketing and promoting Vietnam as a tourism destination Anh (2012, p. 1), determined that since the realization of the imperative niche of tourism industry in the Vietnamese economy, the government has been increasingly concentrating on marketing and promoting tourism through funding promotion campaigns around the world. Different channels of marketing and promotion have been used in this undertaking which include but not limited to brochures, magazines, guidebooks, tourist agencies as well as media like newspapers and TV programs. In the past, promotion of tourism in Vietnam was part of the VNAT’s undertakings since the establishment of this body in 1992. Nonetheless, this failed to receive much priority between 1992 and 2002 based on the little pressure that was exerted on VNAT to take serious action in improving the efficiency in marketing and promoting tourism in Vietnam. However, this situation changed after 2003 crisis caused jointly by the SARS and the Iraq war. This saw the single efforts by the Vietnamese travel companies in marketing their tours in foreign markets, but with limited success based on the little participation of the national tourism organizations (Anh, 2010, p. 12). Nonetheless, recent trends, for instance, the admission of Vietnam into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January, 2007 have seen elevated cooperation in promotion of Vietnamese tourism. With the help of the Spanish agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the period between March 2007 and November, 2008 saw the drafting of a marketing plan 2008-2015 and drafted as a proposal for a research project (Anh, 2010, p. 13). All these efforts which have been supported by the national government have seen increased promotion of Vietnamese tourism both in domestic and foreign markets which can be attributed to the elevated number of tourists visiting the country as mentioned in the previous section. However, there is more to be done in terms of promotion and marketing if at all Vietnam is to remain competitive in the global tourism market. Main impacts of tourism development in Vietnam Tourism development in Vietnam has posed extensive impacts in socio-economic, cultural, and environmental perspectives. This has been both in the positive as well as in the negative sense. In the positive sense, tourism has been central in promoting socio-economic advancements in Vietnam. This has been through providing employment whereby it accounts for one out of each ten jobs in the country. As a result, the Vietnamese government has exhibited enormous determination to make tourism one of the most imperative industries in the country. It has thus specified goals which are beneficial to national development (Chin, 2008, p. 87). From the cultural perspective, tourism has been central in elevating the respect of the local culture, knowledge, arts and crafts of the local people by the tourists as they engage in constant interaction with the locals. In addition, culture relativity has been boosted with the increase of tourism (Mekong River Commission, 2010, p. 15). To the environment, tourism has been central in the conservation of different ecosystems, mostly with the advent if eco-tourism in the country. Nonetheless, tourism has also had some negative impacts on Vietnamese socio-economic set-up. This is whereby the clearance of vegetation cover for the development of tourist-related amenities and accommodation has resulted in the alteration of the rain patterns as well as destruction of the water catchment areas. This has posed negative economic impacts on the Vietnamese population which predominantly depend on rain-fed agriculture which has also to some extent affected their social wellbeing. This clearance of vegetation cover for the development purposes has also been cited as a major environmental implication. In the cultural perspective, there have been reports of culture erosion of the locals with increased trends of immorality slowly creeping in. This is epitomized by reports of sex tourism, including the children and the youths taking up the behaviors of the tourists (Mekong River Commission, 2010, p. 32). Major social and ethical issues faced by tourism industry and government in Vietnam There is a wide alley of these issues as both the tourism industry and the Vietnamese government make efforts to increasingly develop tourism in the country. Firstly, environmental degradation mentioned above is one of the ethical issues. This is whereby despite both of these parties feeling ethically responsible for protecting the environment, both of the parties are faced with the inevitable reality of the need to enhance infrastructural development aimed at promoting tourism. In addition, despite these parties feeling obligated to uphold international agreements like the Kyoto protocol which was established during the Kyoto conference in 1997 to set ‘robust’ targets on reduction of emissions (Stove, 2005, p. 16), they are in a dilemma of the need for increased transportation, development of supporting facilities like hotels, all of which increase emissions into the atmosphere. This is against the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. There are also some social issues, mostly related to increased crime rates, immorality and congestion in public places as more tourists pour among other issues which require urgent redress if at all tourism is to achieve both short and long-term sustainability in Vietnam. Policies in Vietnam which encourage sustainable development of the tourism sector It is imperative to note that over the past decades, there has been a significant number of scholarly contributions in the realms of sustainable tourism, for instance, works by Le et. al. (2006), Calaver-Cortes et. al (2007) and Winter (2007) among others. These studies have been central in providing valuable information in regard to sustainable development of the tourism sector. The Vietnamese government has introduced several policies designed to not only improve tourism but also promote its sustainability. Firstly, there has been the ‘open door’ policy which is chiefly based on privatization, economic liberalization and decentralization (Duc, 2009, p. 5). This has been key in increasing the participation of foreign investors as well as private entrepreneurs both foreign and local. This has resulted in rapid development of tourism-supporting industries like hotels, hostels as well as communication and transport networks. In addition, there are the environmental policy initiatives which aim at promoting environmental conservation amid tourism ventures in Vietnam (Duc, 2009, p. 3). This has been fundamental in ensuring that there is minimal environmental degradation amid the developments to support tourism activities. Lastly, there are the sustainable development policies initiated by the Vietnamese government in collaboration with other stakeholders (Duc, 2009, p. 3). This has been central to the development of eco-tourism in the country which will ensure short and long-term sustainability of the tourism activities. Major issues and challenges that confront the future development of tourism in Vietnam As mentioned in the preceding section, there is the environmental challenge which is caused by increased clearance of vegetation cover for the development purposes. This causes a conflict between uncontrolled development and the conservation of natural resources (Duc, 2009, p. 5). This will continue to affect the viability of expansion of amenities to support tourism as well as affect the socio-economic wellbeing of the Vietnamese population. This can be addressed through the implementation of policies aimed at environmental conservation, banning of logging activities and invasion of water catchment areas by private developers. In addition, policies controlling the disposal of effluents from hotels, hostels in tourism destinations ought to be formulated and implemented in order to minimize the level of pollution from these localities. The other challenge is related to the participation of the local communities as well as the effectiveness of communication among all the relevant stakeholders in the tourism industry (Duc, 2009, p. 28). In order to address this, proper mechanisms of increasing community participation and communication among all the stakeholders is integral in the attainment of sustainable tourism. Lastly there is the issue of low public awareness in regard to sustainable tourism development (Duc, 2009, p. 28). This can be addressed through increased public campaigns, both by the government as well as the private agencies in regard to the importance of sustainable development in Vietnamese tourism. Conclusion From the preceding discourse, it is apparent that tourism has evolved into becoming fundamental to the Vietnamese economic advancement. Vietnam has diverse tourist attractions, amenities, access, accommodation as well as tourist activities. In regard to the stage of development, the Vietnamese tourism sector can be considered to be in the development stage when placed in the Butler’s Resort Cycle Model. On the other hand, Japan, United States, China, Taiwan and Korea have been cited as the major tourist markets for Vietnam. Two types of tourists exist in Vietnam, namely allocentric to psychocentric. Marketing and promotion of Vietnamese tourism has been slow in the past but has received a major boost in the recent times. Lastly, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental impacts have been linked to tourism in Vietnam, as well as major social and ethical issues. Some of these can be addressed using some of the interventions outlined in the preceding section. References Anh, LT., 2010, ‘Marketing Vietnam’s tourism to Japan: Identifying and improving the images of Vietnam as a tourism destination for Japanese travelers’, PhD Dissertation, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. Anh, PK., 2012, ‘Identifying and improving the images of Vietnam as a tourism destination among Finnish tourists’, Bachelor’s Thesis, HAMK University of Applied Sciences. Anh, L. & Cooper, M., 2008, ‘Vietnam’s Image as a Tourism Destination in Japan: an Analysis of Japanese Travel Guidebooks and Brochures, and Attribute Importance-Performance’, retrieved 5th January, 2013, . Chin, B., 2008, ‘Tourism & Economic Development in Vietnam’, Masters Thesis, University of Birmingham. Claver-Cortes, E., Monila-Azorin, J. F., Pereira-Moliner, J., & Lopez-Garmero, M. D, 2007, ‘Environmental Strategies and Their Impacts on Hotel Performance’, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 663–677. Discovery Indochina website, 2012, ‘Vietnam Getting there & away’, retrieved 5th January, 2013, . Duc, TB., 2009, ‘Tourism Industry Responses to the Rise of Sustainable Tourism and Related Environmental Policy Initiatives: The Case of Hue City, Vietnam’, PhD Thesis, Auckland University of Technology. 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