VNAT plans to cut down tourism fairs in 2011
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) said it will attend seven international tourism fairs in 2011, instead of 10 in 2010. Also, the tourism management agency plans to more closely cooperate with airlines to make tourism promotion programs at trade fairs more effective.
VNAT”s General Director, Nguyen Van Tuan has said on Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon that VNAT will only participate in some most important trade fairs which can help much in popularizing Vietnam travel and provide big exchange opportunities to travel firms. Tuan said that the decision has been made in order to cut down expenses in the current difficult period.
“Though we will attend less trade fairs, we will better organize booths at the trade fairs and will fairly arrange the premises for travel firms. Those, who contribute more funds, will get more advantageous premises,” he said.
Previously, companies of Vietnam tours always joined forces with VNAT to organize national booths at trade fairs. However, recently, some firms have decided to spend money to lease booths, design the booths and popularize their images themselves.
“The VNAT’s booths were always too small, therefore, travel firms did not have much room at the booths,” Director of a travel firm explained why he has decided to set up a booth of its own. “Meanwhile, we need big booths, where our staff can discuss with foreign partners. We also need the room to display publications and need the space designed in a way to show our specific characteristics”.
The representative of another travel firm said that his firm does not attend every trade fair together with VNAT, because every travel firm has its specific key targeted markets. However, he stressed that VNAT needs to change the way of attending trade fairs, especially in the booth arrangement and the working method.
“At many trade fairs, foreign reporters could not find the representatives of Vietnam’s tourism at the booths,” a director of a travel firm said.
VNAT has sent a dispatch to local departments of culture, sports and tourism, inviting travel firms to register to join the national tourism booth of VNAT at JATA, an international tourism trade fair in Japan, ITB Asia in Singapore and CITM in China to be held in September and October. The registrations of travel firms would serve as the important information for VNAT to carry out the national tourism promotion program in 2011.
Saigon Tiep thi has quoted Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department for Culture, Sports and Tourism, La Quoc Khanh as saying that the department will not join the booths until it knows for sure that the organization by VNAT becomes better.
Meanwhile, Pham Ha, Managing Director of Sang Trong Vietnam (Vietnam’s luxury), has affirmed that the firm will lease a booth at ITB Asia 2011 trade fair itself in order to get better business efficiency.
“It will cost us 3000 dollars to lease a 9 square meter booth, but we will be able to polish our image in the eyes of foreign partners,” Director of Net Dep Dong Duong (Indochina’s beauty) Vu Hoang Anh said.
He added that travel firms in general do not want to “sit in a common cramped house of Vietnam’s tourism”.
When reporters asked if VNAT has made some changes with the way of organizing VNAT’s booths at trade fairs, after some travel firms have refused to join the booths at the trade fairs in Singapore, Japan and China due to the bad organization, Tuan said that a lot of travel firms have registered to join the three trade fairs and he has not received any reports about this from subordinates.
Tuan said that VNAT always listens to opinions from travel firms with all ears, so that it can improve the tourism promotion work. If you want to have more infomation about Vietnam Tour Operaters or want to booking best Vietnam Tours, just visit vietnamtoursdiary.com.
Processing your request, Please wait....
