Vietnam to refresh theme parks
August 15, 2012 by Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit
Filed under Government, Vietnam
HANOI, 15 August 2012: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism says although Vietnam has many tourism advantages it has failed to develop entertainment and real estate to expand its tourism revenue base.
VNAT official, Pham Trung Luong, said the country’s theme parks lacked potential and strong points to attract international visitors.
“The majority of entertainment complexes in Vietnam lack authentic local products and many service models are copied from other places and this makes them lose appeal for international visitors.”
A population of nearly 90 million can support theme park entertainment, but there are long coast lines, diversified culture and beauty and these are the advantage that the country must concentrate in tourism, he said.
Well-known entertainment complexes having been built in the country including Dam Sen and Suoi Tien in Ho Chi Minh City, Thuy Cung in Nha Trang, Dai Nam in Binh Duong and Thien Duong Bao Son in Hanoi.
“The current entertainment parks are in the northern and southern areas of the country, while the central region that has potential particularly its beaches has been largely ignored,” Mr Luong said.
In order to promote this region’s potential, more skilled human resources and adequate infrastructure was needed, he said, noting that only Danang and Cam Ranh international airports could meet aviation demands.
He added that the Administration of Tourism had a plan for over 40 potential tourism complexes nationwide, which would receive preferential policies for attracting investment and developing infrastructure.
Meanwhile, property experts said the complexes had initially succeeded in combining landscapes, traditional values and some modern entertainment technologies to meet visitors’ demand.
However, the parks still proved unattractive as they were trying to provide multiple services without targeting specific visitors.
Experts agree that although tourism projects had been strongly developed over the last few years, few of the entertainment services could be sold to international tourists.
According to Ministry of Planning and Investment, during 1998 to 2008, the country attracted 431 foreign direct investment projects involved in tourism with a total capital of US$18.6 billion, but most of them concentrated on hotel and resort development.
It attributed to a lack of specific policies for entertainment property development. The government had assigned the ministry to study such policies.
