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A tour to Da Lat provided by Mien Trung tour operator |
Mien Trung (Central) tourism Co., Ltd., established in 1990, is the first private tour operator in Binh Dinh. It has partly contributed to the development of Binh Dinh tourism after nearly 20 years of operation. Binh Dinh Newspaper’s reporter spoke with Nguyen Pham Kien Trung, director of Mien Trung tourism Co., Ltd. about tourism-relating issues in Binh Dinh.
* It could be said that your business is now successful, do you remember the beginnings?
I still remember that 1990 was chosen as “Vietnam Tourism Year”, aiming to promote the tourism industry. The country’s economy still faced many difficulties even though Vietnam began the Doi Moi (innovation) process at that time.
In 1990, many favorable conditions like the simplification of exit and entry procedure were created for foreign tourists.
The number of foreign tourists coming to Binh Dinh has quickly increased. Our services were licensed to meet demands. Frankly, I didn’t know much about tourism, but I fearlessly did business because of my love for tourism.
When the law on enterprise came into practice, difficulties have been overcome. Our services were highly appreciated because they met all demands at that time. Mien Trung tour operator has become well-known in Binh Dinh since 1992. Many international clients such as Nissho Iwai, New Oji, Marubeni, and Mitsui used our services when coming to Binh Dinh.
Thanks to a long time with ups and downs, we experienced a viable method, that is, the visitors’ satisfaction. It’s vital to best meet all their demands. The prestige is the biggest fortune of an enterprise.
* What do you think about the tourism potential in Binh Dinh?
Binh Dinh has the potential for tourism development. Most tourists coming to Binh Dinh said that Binh Dinh was beautiful and attractive. It has many unique architectural works built nearly 1,000 years ago.
Coming to Binh Dinh, tourists are able to know more about Tay Son dynasty and the hero Nguyen Hue. Also, it has many beautiful landscapes.
Binh Dinh can be considered as a multi-cultural land with many craft villages and specialties. Those who come to Binh Dinh will be able to enjoy its culinary delights.
We are absolutely confident when introducing tourism programs in Binh Dinh to tourists. Tay Son-Binh Dinh Festival 2008 was well organized, creating a considerable driving force for the development of Binh Dinh tourism.
Binh Dinh is expected to become a new attractive destination on Vietnam’s tourism map in the near future.
* How about its drawbacks?
Tourism in Binh Dinh is still potential. It has slowly developed. It’s necessary to differentiate between potential and product. The tourism potential can be known as the “raw material” to produce services. These services are, however, good or bad depending on the human beings. We must also know where and when to sell them.
One more issue is that tour guides in Binh Dinh haven’t been well trained. They directly promote the tourism development in Binh Dinh. It’s necessary, therefore, to have qualified tour guides to enhance the image of Binh Dinh.
At present, there is not a connection among the State, community, and enterprises for the strategy to develop the tourism in Binh Dinh. Also, the infrastructure hasn’t been well invested. Many tourism sites, for example, lack souvenir shops and specialties. Tourists have no chance to spend money buying what they need.
This means that local people have no chance to earn more for their living. The connection to develop the tourism for the mutual benefit has been broken.
* What do you wish for the development of Binh Dinh tourism?
I’ve done business in the field of tourism for 20 years. I always think that I was born to bring the happiness to all people who want to discover the beauties of all regions. I don’t know how to live without tourism.
I think that the State, community, and enterprises should closely connect to each other to make potential come true. The infrastructure needs to be focused on in tourism site. It needs to have a direct flight from Quy Nhon to Ha Noi. Quy Nhon University should open courses on tourism training to provide the human resource for the tourism industry in Binh Dinh to ensure a long-term strategic development.
* How about Mien Trung tour operator?
We planned to focus on key tasks such as building tourism programs and services, promoting Binh Dinh tourism to attract more tourists to Binh Dinh, training tour guides to enhance the competitiveness, and expanding the market.
Our top priority is to develop highly qualified tour guides to meet all tourists’ demands. At present, we have trained five tour guides. We know that good tour guides will create the best competitiveness. They decide the success of enterprises and considerably contribute to the development of tourism in Binh Dinh.
During the past ten years, most tourists highly appreciated our tour guides. This proved that our investment needs to be continued. This is also our power for the competitiveness because tourists always have right to be best served.
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