Welcome tourists at Quynhon port. Photo: L.X

Binh Dinh Tourism Department and provincial travel agencies have tried their utmost to promote the tourism in the province. However, there have been many difficulties in Binh Dinh tourism. Binh Dinh newspaper’s reporter interviewed the director of Binh Dinh Tourism Department Le Huu Cu on the issue.

* What can you talk about the operation of provincial travel agencies?

-Although there have been many difficulties and challenges in the development of Binh Dinh tourism, the operation of the provincial tourism has had positive shifts. The most obvious shift in the development of Binh Dinh tourism is that hotels have mushroomed. So far, there have been 56 hotels in Binh Dinh in which there are 3 four-star hotels, 2 three-star hotels, 2 two-star hotels and 15 one-star hotels with 461 rooms and 1,017 international-standard rooms. Nine travel agencies have been currently operating in Binh Dinh in which one is for foreign tourists, one is waiting for the license from Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, and seven are for domestic tourists.

Generally, hotels in Binh Dinh have been expanded and upgraded some kinds of services and products. Thanks to this, they better meet tourists’ demands, extending their stay. Meanwhile, travel agencies have tried to invest in exploring new services with Binh Dinh’s distinctive features, constructing tours and finding new markets. This has partly contributed to the quality and ebullience of the Binh Dinh tourism.

The provincial travel agencies have had much contribution to the Binh Dinh tourism development. However, most of them are still weak in competition. Apart from big travel agencies and hotels, almost remaining ones are small-sized, so they haven’t systematically operated. Alongside this, the advertisement and promotion for the provincial tourism are insufficient, and the lack of the staff and those who are weak in both professional knowledge and foreign languages have badly effects on the acceleration of the tourism industry.

* What do travel agencies have to do to promote the development of Binh Dinh tourism, in your opinion?

-Binh Dinh tourism in general and provincial travel agencies in particular still have many difficulties. They, therefore, need to enhance the quality of services and simultaneously cooperate with each other to promote and advertise Binh Dinh tourism’s trademark, avoiding the unfair competition which can badly affect the whole operation. Besides, the establishment of a tourism association is also necessary so that travel agencies will be able to share the information, protect their rights and develop together.

Hotels also need to diversify their products and services, such as: games on the beach, martial art, traditional art, conferences, and eating and drinking programmes. Especially, the MICE tourism should be paid attention to (MICE stands for Meeting, Incentives, Conferences/ Congress, Events/ Exhibition) because several big hotels in the province now have the ability to hold well meetings or conferences in combination with travelling to diversify their services.

As for travel agencies, they need to find tourists at such key markets as HCMC or Hanoi, and combine with Caravan tourists who tour along the East- West corridor. The difficulty of Binh Dinh tourism is that products for tourism are too poor and monotonous, so tourists haven’t been much attracted. I think that some businesses having rich potential should bravely invest in constructing several entertainment spots with high quality so that they can attract tourists and provincial people’s demand can be met.

Alongside this, travel agencies need to concentrate on training to improve professional knowledge and foreign languages level for the staff working in this field so that their standards are as equal as those of the region or the nation.

* What is Binh Dinh Tourism Department going to do to support travel agencies and make Binh Dinh tourism develop faster?

-One of the key duties of Binh Dinh Tourism in the coming time is to plan and invest in constructing the infrastructure, prioritizing main tourism areas to promote the tourism development. We also plan to develop the eco-tourism, cultural and historical tourism, and, simultaneously, intensify the advertisement and promotion for Binh Dinh tourism, improve the quality of kinds of tourism, and focus on the training of the staff.

The provincial Tourism Department is proposed to meet representatives of provincial travel agencies and investors in June to discuss difficulties we have. We have planned to investigate the conduction of tourism projects, and the management of natural resources and the environment for tourism business in Binh Dinh. The Department will then inform the provincial People’s Committee about the situation and suggest particular solutions for the promotion of Binh Dinh tourism.

Also in June Binh Dinh Tourism Department is to open classes for tour guides to meeting the travel agencies’ demand. After that, we are going to have refresher courses on the hotel business.

* Thank you very much!

• Interviewed by Nguyen Vu
• Translated by Hong Quang