National Travel Forum opens

The forum was attended by Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Director General of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh; Vice President of Vietnam Tourism Association (VITA) Vu The Binh, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents (VISTA); and Vice Chairmen of Vietnam and local tourism associations.

The event also featured the participation of hundreds of delegates, representing travel agencies, tourism, culture, sports and tourism departments, tourist centres of localities, and a large number of press and media agencies.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, VITA Vice President Vu The Binh said that 2020 is a special year with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the unprecedented destruction that has pushed the tourism industry back for decades. Covid-19's damage after a year cannot be counted. Vietnam tourism in 2020 witnessed a decrease of nearly 80% in international visitors, 50% in domestic tourists and 90% in outbound visitors, while revenue decreased by nearly 60% compared to 2019.

Following the direction of the Government, both preventing epidemics and recovering and developing the economy, Vietnam tourism businesses, including travel businesses, have actively implemented many solutions to restore the industry.

VITA Vice President Vu The Binh said that, organising the forum, Vietnam Travel Association wishes to hear opinions from industry leaders and experts and leaders of travel businesses to find a solution to help the tourism industry quickly overcome the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung, said that the domestic tourism market is very important at present, is a great source of income for current tourism industry. However, the Deputy Minister also emphasised that it is necessary to segment the market and create specific products for each target group. In addition to restructuring, finding markets, creating new products, improving human resources is also an important factor.

At the forum, delegates attended two discussion sessions with topics "Vietnam Travel - Solution 2021" and "Vietnam Travel towards the Future".

At the event, many cooperation agreements between the Vietnam Tourism Association and the People's Committee of Cat Hai District, between the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Association and the Da Nang Tourism Association, and between the tourism demand stimulus alliance and Flamingo Holdings, as well as between MICE Vietnam Travel Club and Flamingo Holdings.

(Source: NDO)