VietNamNet Bridge - The number of tourists going to Hoi An in the first 10 months of the year reached 1 million, a drop of 30 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Tourists visit Hoi An in the central province of Quang Nam. The number of tourists to the city in the first 10 months of the year dropped by 30 per cent year-on-year. The drop was attributed to the economic downturn and poor quality of services.

Dinh Thi Thu Thuy, chief of Hoi An City’s Commerce and Tourism Office, attributed the fall to the global financial crisis and low quality services.

Total tourism turnover in the last 10 months was only VND550 billion (US$32 million), a decrease of 33 per cent compared to the same period last year, Thuy said.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, sales and marketing manager at Hoi An Tourist Service Joint-Stock Company, said the number of local and foreign tourists was expected to fall from 20 per cent to 30 per cent for the rest of the year.

The majority of tourists in the first 10 months of the year were from the US, France and Germany.

Arfan Marwazi Ismail, general director of Hoi An Riverside Resort&Spa, said a lack of advertising and low quality services were also to blame.

The State should have better facilities, particularly for Australian and Japanese tourists, he said.

Claude M Balland, general director of Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort&Spa, said the most important factor was improving quality of services and training staff.

(Source: VNS)