In order to stimulate the demand and attract more travelers, local
authorities have been rushing to organize sea tourism campaigns, from
culture-tourism weeks to sea festivals.



In fact, this is not a new idea at all since regional countries,
especially Thailand have always been considering the organizing of tourism
festivals as the opportunities to introduce new tourism products. With the
professional organization, Thai can turn festivals into a kind of tourism
specialty which can show the specific characteristics of the regions. With
festivals, Thailand has greatly succeeded in attracting foreign travelers.



However, Vietnam is quite another case. Duc Tho, a Viet Kieu (overseas
Vietnamese), who has returned from the UK to join the trip throughout the
country, said that with so many beautiful and romantic beaches, Vietnam should
have great potentials to develop sea tourism. However, in fact, travelers
complain that the unprofessional organization of festivals has made the events
similar and dim which do not show the special characteristics of different
regions



Though being considered a special sea festival in the north, “Carnival Ha
Long” looked like a “street demonstration” rather than creating special
impressions which can persuade foreigners to return to Vietnam.



“Instead of joining the carnival and enjoying the festival atmosphere like
the carnivals organized in South American countries, the visitors just could
stand at the roadside to watch the event,” Tho noted.



The annually held fireworks festival in Da Nang is considered one of the
rare successful festivals, because it can attract domestic and foreign tourists.
However, the 2011’s festival could attract only 2500 foreign travelers, while
the number of domestic travelers was much higher, about 12,900.



When asked why sea festivals in Vietnam still cannot be attractive in the
eyes of foreigners, Nguyen Cong Hoan, Deputy Director of Hanoi Redtour, a travel
firm, said that Vietnam invites foreigners to Vietnam, but it does not offer
attractive activities. While the festivals’ performance is not really
attractive, travelers have nowhere to go except having sea bathing, and they
have nothing to buy except seacooking.



Especially, Hoan said Vietnam seriously lacks high grade accommodation
services for travelers to stay. Most of luxury hotel room rates at festival
localities are booked for VIP guests, artists, or sponsors.



Local newspapers have reported that a lot of restaurants have been
mushrooming at Do Son Beach in Hai Phong City. However, in fact, there is only a
few of restaurants capable enough to serve the groups of foreign tourists with
more than 50 guests.



Meanwhile, travel firms complain that they cannot find 5-star hotels in
Hai Phong, which is the main reason that explains why foreign high grade
tourists do not want to stay.



At Cua Lo Beach in Nghe An, it is also very difficult to find 5-star
hotels, therefore, this is not the destination of luxurious tourists.



Festivals not attractive to foreigners, why?



According to experts, in order to develop tourism, it is necessary to set
up good material facilities and provide diversified tourism products, and then
try to attract tourists with festivals and campaigns. Meanwhile, Vietnam is
following a wrong way up: it tries to organize festivals to attract tourists,
but it has nothing to entertain guests.



Hoan agrees that while Vietnam hopes to attract foreigners with festivals,
the majority of them are not really interested in festivals. It is because
festivals in Vietnam are always too crowded, while traffic jam occurs.
Especially, at many festivals, tourists see modern culture instead of
traditional cultural features, the things they expect to find in Vietnam.



Source: Tien phong