 |
|
Many people visit Binh Dinh’s stalls at HCM City Tourism Festival 2009 |
Binh Dinh Tourism Promotion Center (TPC) and some travel agencies in the province took part in the HCM City Tourism Festival 2009. Director of Binh Dinh TPC, Huynh Cao Nhat, talks more about their activities.
Could you brief on the province’s participation at the festival?
The HCM City Tourism Festival 2009 took place at Dam Sen Park, HCM City, between April 3 and 5, including a tourism fair with 120 counters, a culinary fair featuring southern cuisine, the HCM City Tourism Golden Voice Contest, a game show called "HCM City spotlight of Asia" and a tourism photo exhibition.
The province’s TPC, Hai Au hotel, Hoang Yen hotel, and Huong Que company joined the festival with three stalls introducing Binh Dinh’s tourism and its specialties.
Nearly 2,500 people visited our stalls and they were provided with the information about tourist sites and specialties in Binh Dinh.
Binh Dinh specialties left visitors with good impression, such as rice vermicelli with fried fish or Cho Huyen fermented pork roll.
Also, the province’s TPC and travel agencies met with HCM City-based universities which have Departments of Tourism and tour operators, offering them the information about tourism in Binh Dinh.
How about the effectiveness of such activities?
Joining the festival helped us introduce the province’s potential for tourism development and its distinctive features.
The central province of Binh Dinh, particularly Quy Nhon city, is a new and attractive destination for tourists, according to the secretary of HCM City Tourism Association and representatives of tour operators.
However, they don’t have much information about Binh Dinh; therefore, we need to focus on the issue, helping them plan tours to Binh Dinh.
We also experienced many issues on tourism promotion when joining the event.
What did you experience?
The tourism promotion will be effective through all publications, the mass media, and events. But they need to be various with distinctive features, helping create good impression for all.
The most important issue is impressive events, such as Tay Son-Binh Dinh Festival or international festival of traditional martial arts. They need to be well organized for they will attract scores of visitors, promoting the development of Binh Dinh tourism.
How about conditions for effective tourism promotion?
Alongside above-mentioned issues, travel agencies also strengthen their roles because it is travel agencies which will bring tourism products to tourists.
What’s more, services need to be impressive, effectively operating. Poor infrastructure will be an obstacle to attract tourists.
The tourism development also need to be promoted on the internet which has been proving as the most effective and popular channel.
| 
