DANANG, 18 February 2019: Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, chaired a summit on tourism development the country’s central coastal and highlands regions covering Hue and Thua Thien province at the weekend.
Reporting on the event Nahn Dan Online, the official Communist Party news channel, said over 500 delegates from public agencies and 19 cities, including representatives from international organisations, businesses and foreign embassies presented insights and recommendations on the country’s tourism path going forward.
Comments were tabled from major tourism players such as Laguna, Vietjet, Vietravel, Sun Group, Vina Capital and BRG.
Speaking at the event, the Prime Minister called for tourism development to speeded up in central coastal and central highlands regions to maximise the benefits from tourism across the provinces.
Saying the regions had the most diverse tourism resources in the country ranging from heritages to natural assets that could be developed through ecotourism.
To support tourism clusters other related industries, including infrastructure, aviation, accommodation, banking, insurance, health care would need to expand and the region would need to improve security and safety.
In 2018, Vietnam welcomed over 15.5 million international tourists and served 80 million domestic holidaymakers.
In particular, the central coastal and highland regions welcomed about 56 million domestic visitors and more than 9.5 million international tourists, equivalent to about 28% of the country’s total.
Their total tourism revenue was more than VND110 trillion, accounting for about 18.75% of the country’s total, the NDO report stated.
Representing aviation interest in the central coastal and highlands regions, Vina Capital investment fund, founder, Don Lam, said that it was important to invest in airports and establish open skies so foreign airlines could provide more direct flights to gateway cities in Vietnam.
Vietravel Tourism Company general director, Nguyen Quoc Ky, said airline development was crucial to boost tourism growth. He praised Danang for its efforts to increase flights to the city, while proposing more open policies on aviation and visas for international tourists to create a breakthrough for regional development.
Vietjet CEO, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, outlined the airline’s role in the central regions. She identified 12 airports in 19 provinces and cities — Hue, Danang, Cam Ranh, Dong Hoi, Phu Cat, Chu Lai, Tuy Hoa, Lien Khuong, Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot, Vinh and Thanh Hoa — where the airline had concentrated efforts to increase its presence.
Vietjet has established 70 international routes to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan (China), the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar.
