VIETNAM TOURISM INDUSTRY

Vietnam Tourism Industry

Executive Summary

Tourism development in Vietnam started recently but has registered remarkable growth. Over the past ten years, the Vietnamese tourism has expanded 8 times in terms of the number of foreign visitors and 10 times compared to that of domestic tourists. According to an assessment by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in conjunction with Oxford Economic Forecasting (OEF), Vietnam is positioned in the 6th place among the ten countries are expected to show growth in the travel and tourism sector worldwide during the period of 2007 to 2016. Experts estimate that the number of foreign tourists in Vietnam will double, reaching more than 7 million visitors in 2012. The new head of Vietnam's Tourism Administration Hoang Tuan Anh (Hoang Tuan Anh) intends to sharply increase the flow of visitors to the country.

He proposes to abolish the VAT on goods purchased by foreign tourists, employ foreign companies to promote tourism potential of Vietnam, and to abolish visas for citizens of all countries and to develop a ”caravan" tourism. He also wants to change the current tourism slogan "Vietnam - The Hidden Charm" to "The Hidden Charm". The development of tourism in the country suffered from a shortage of qualified specialists in this field, so the emphasis needs to be placed on improving the professionalism of the tourism industry. In addition, by the end of 2011, officials plan to increase the number of rooms in hotels in Vietnam to 170,000. In order to increase the number of international or oversee tourists in Vietnam, the officials need to take into consideration adequate and effective marketing strategies. These assessment and development of such strategies will help in the promotion of the brand “Vietnam”, positive brand image, and in the development of the overall tourism industry of the country.

Table of Contents

Executive Summaryii

Introduction1

Marketing1

Tourism Marketing2

Tourism Industry of Vietnam3

Suggested Marketing Strategies for Vietnam5

Vietnam Tourism Marketing9

Tourism Marketing Strategies Analysis12

PEST12

Political12

Economic12

Social13

Technology13

SWOT Analysis13

Strengths13

Weaknesses14

Opportunities14

Threats14

Conclusion14

References16

Vietnam Tourism Industry

Introduction

Tourism industry plays a significant role in the economic development of a nation. The industry contributes significantly in revenue generation and in the growth of GDP. This sector also helps in bringing foreign exchange, as international tourists, from various parts of the world, travel and spend time in shopping and recreational activities. Therefore, nations all over the world have identified the significance of having competitive tourism sectors and working on their development to achieve competitive advantage. Thus, tourism organizations need to assess, develop and evaluate the marketing strategies related to tourism performance so that they can attract maximum number of international or overseas tourists and visitors. As a result, it is imperative to study the literature about this topic and gain valuable insights. According to previous research, it has been found that tourism sector is an important economic contributor.

Marketing

The term marketing has a number of definitions. According to Philip Kotler (considered by some the father of marketing) marketing is "the social process and administration by which groups and individuals meet their needs by creating and exchanging goods and services" (Kotler, John ...