VietNamNet Bridge - The last few months saw dramatic declines in foreign visitors, yet the overall figure for the first 11 months of the year is more than the figure for the same period last year by 1.1 per cent.

Foreign travellers cruise along the water to the famed Tam Coc-Bich Dong tourist site in the northern province of Ninh Binh.

Viet Nam received 3.9 million foreign arrivals so far this year, according to the General Statistic Office (GSO).

The number of visitors from mainland China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia increased by 14.7 per cent, 14.3, 14 and 13.5 per cent respectively, compared with the same period of last year.

However, the number of visitors from countries and territories that have often had higher volumes has decreased. The country saw, for example, a reduction of 5.9 per cent from Japan, 3.5 per cent from South Korea and 3.1 per cent from Taiwan.

A sharp drop in the number of visitors from other high-income countries, such as the US and Canada, is also causing great concern within the tourist industry.

Visitors from high-income markets account for 40 per cent of the total number of foreign arrivals. Therefore, the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism’s (VNAT) Travel Department has referred to the current situation as “quite serious”.

A decline in the number of foreign arrivals in Viet Nam during recent months due to the global financial crisis will seriously hinder the tourism industry in achieving its set target of 5 million foreign visitors this year.

The number of foreign visitors dropped alarmingly in June, and this downtrend has continued since then.

The VNAT reported that the number of foreign arrivals was 339,000 in August, 315,000 in September and 297,000 in October.

The GSO said that the country received only 279,000 foreigners thus far in November, a further reduction from last month.

The concomitant fall in hotel room occupancy is also worrisome. Many luxury hotels reported room occupancy rates of only 55 per cent in the past ten months, 10-15 per cent lower than the rate recorded during the same period last year.

“If this situation continues, it will be impossible for Viet Nam to welcome 5 million foreign visitors, including 3.6 million tourists, the target it has set for this year,” said VNAT deputy director Nguyen Manh Cuong.

Although the global financial crisis and economic recession are regarded as the main culprits for the decline, there were additional factors behind the drop in overseas visitors, including natural disasters, floods, weak infrastructure, and the low quality of guides and services provided by the hospitality sector, Cuong said.

Struggling in the current climate, both State-owned and private travel companies, including Hanoitourist, Saigontourist, Vietmark and Lotussia Travel, are striving to offer new products, while also adopting new marketing strategies to attract new tourists. They have also been advised to explore new markets.

To help give impetus to the industry, the Government has agreed to provide VND30 billion (US$1.93 million) for a range of promotional activities.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved a plan to advertise images of Viet Nam on the BBC, and it is planning to further build on this approach by promoting the country’s natural beauty via other worldwide television channels.

The UN Tourism Organisation predicted that the global tourism industry would remain static during 2009 before rebounding in 2020.

(Source: VNS)