A foreign tourist reads a guide book in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, a 30-second TV commercial promoting Vietnamese tourism has been running during British Broadcasting Corporation news programs since June 11.

The commercial, produced by BBC, will be broadcast for a total of eight weeks in the Asia-Pacific region and six weeks in Europe and North America.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said BBC was chosen because the channel is watched worldwide and the whole campaign was relatively inexpensive, costing only US$204,600.

But Than Hai Thanh, general director of Ho Chi Minh City-based Ben Thanh Tourist, said the campaign may be a waste of money considering the global economic slump and current flu-crisis.

People simply do not want to travel amid the economic downturn and an influenza scare, Thanh said, noting that room occupancy rates at many hotels had dropped to 20-30 percent.

Foreign arrivals to Vietnam may fall 20 percent this year to only 3.3 million as a result of the global economic crisis and the influenza A (H1N1) scare, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said last month. Arrivals increased 0.6 percent to 4.2 million in 2008.

The number of foreign arrivals fell 19.1 percent year-on-year to 1.9 million in the first six months this year. The number of visitors from key markets, including China, Japan and South Korea, dropped by as much as 39 percent, figures from the General Statistics Office showed.

The plan to promote tourism on BBC was approved by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism late last year. But it has since met criticism from industry insiders.

Baron R. Ah Moo, CEO of Indochina Hotels and Resorts, told local newswire VietNamNet in March that although BBC was a famous channel, its viewers were mostly businesspeople who pay more attention to political issues, labor markets and investment policies than they do to tourism.

Luu Duc Ke, director of Hanoitourist, agreed, saying it would be more effective to promote tourism on travel channels rather than on BBC or CNN.

In late 2007, Vietnam had launched a similar $300,000 campaign on the US cable news network CNN.

Vu The Binh, a senior official at the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, admitted that both campaigns were small due to limited funds.

“We don’t have a lot of money, we must cut our coat according to our cloth.”

But Binh said the promotion on CNN from late 2007 to early 2008 contributed to the increase in foreign arrivals last year.

“It is the right time to start more advertising campaigns to attract foreign tourists,” he said, implying that promotions could help curb the decline in arrivals.

Phan Dinh Hue city, director of Viet Circle Travel and Service Company, said promotions were necessary for the tourism sector. But he said advertising could only be effective if there were large and regular campaigns.

“It’s just like going fishing. The bait must be the best thing we can afford, or we will fail,” he said.

“Why don’t we ask international entertainment or sports stars to promote Vietnam’s tourism?” Hue suggested.

Thanh of Ben Thanh Tourist said that even if the BBC advertising campaign was able to bring more foreign visitors to Vietnam, it was unlikely that they would come back.

Other countries in the region like Thailand and Malaysia not only spend a lot on promotions but they have better tourism products as well, Thanh said.

Many tourism companies said promotion alone would be not enough. Services must be improved and more products needed to be launched to make Vietnam a really attractive destination.

The government plans to spend VND25 billion ($1.4 million) this year to promote tourism.

In a separate ad campaign, images of Vietnam’s major scenic spots have been posted on public transport in London. The six-month campaign began on July 1.

The country also plans to advertise tourism on several other television channels, including ESPN and Star Sports.

VNN/TN/TBKTSG