Strengthening tourism connectivity
Connecting is a key keyword in the trend of global tourism development, contributing to raising the position of destinations on the world map. Participating in international tourism networks not only expands connections, promotes promotion but also helps access sustainable development trends.
Vietnam is gradually affirming its role in connecting and enhancing tourism status, especially through international networks. Currently, there are 8 Vietnamese cities that are members of the Global cities Tourism Promotion Organization (TPO) - a network of 137 cities in 16 countries, headquartered in Busan, South Korea.
Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Ha Van Sieu affirmed: TPO is an extremely effective global initiative, contributing to connecting major cities and tourist destinations in the region, including prominent tourist centers such as: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Lat (Lam Dong), Hue, Da Nang... These are attractive destinations, contributing to enhancing the position of Vietnam tourism on the regional and world map.
Hanoi officially joined TPO in 2008 and has had many active activities to enhance its position in the international tourism network. This year, Hanoi will host the 2025 TPO Regional Conference. This is a clear demonstration of the important role of the Capital in connecting member cities, promoting tourism promotion and promoting multilateral cooperation.
Ms. Dang Huong Giang - Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism - assessed that the conference contributed to promoting cooperation between TPO member cities in Vietnam and expanding opportunities for cooperation with international member cities, contributing to improving the effectiveness of tourism promotion in the region and the world. In recent times, the city has focused resources on promotion in key markets, in which Korea is a potential market. Hanoi tourism has many suitable products such as golf, resorts, MICE, culture, history. She hopes TPO will organize more practical activities to support connections.
Improving competitiveness with creative products
In the context of global tourism recovering strongly after the pandemic, destinations need to continuously innovate and create to attract international tourists. This is also a problem for TPO member cities to improve competitiveness and attract international visitors.
Commenting on the general context of the global tourism industry, Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Hong Long - Head of the Department of Tourism Studies of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said that 2025 will be a pivotal year, marking a strong development step of the tourism industry.
6 outstanding trends are reshaping the tourism industry, including: Sustainable and responsible tourism; personalized, self-sufficient tourism; health care and spiritual tourism; discovering new, private destinations, avoiding peak seasons; high-end tourism for the upper class and work-based tourism.
However, the three major challenges facing the tourism industry are rising travel costs, a shortage of quality accommodation facilities and impacts from global economic instability.
Meanwhile, Ms. Huynh Thi Mai Thy, Vietnam market manager of Traveloka, commented that OTA (online travel agency) is playing an increasingly important role in promoting sustainable tourism.
Ms. Thy proposed a number of important orientations to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam's tourism, including: building a destination brand through digital storytelling; taking advantage of OTA to expand market reach; strengthening public-private partnerships to synchronize infrastructure and policies; at the same time developing green, responsible tourism, focusing on the community.
