By Peter Semone
Vietnam’s tourism promotion slogan is Hidden Charm. Most Vietnamese tourism practitioners (both public and private sector) don’t really know what VNAT’s Hidden Charm campaign is all about. Someone in Vietnam tourism needs to pick up a text on tourism marketing and flip to the chapter on branding. Surely the text will explain the importance of a branding campaign transcending the entire tourism experience – literally from the destination selection phase all the way to the return flight home. Vietnam need not look far. Some of its neighbors are pushing the envelope in setting destination marketing benchmarks. When it comes to creating image and perception, there is only one place that is recognised as Truly Asia. Malaysia Truly Asia, and to a lesser degree Uniquely Singapore and Amazing Thailand are outstanding examples of consistent, well funded international tourism branding campaigns.
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By Peter Semone
In early April, I will participate in a three city – Hanoi, Danang and Saigon – tourism lecture series being organised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). The seminar will focus on European Source Markets, with tourism experts from France and the countries of Benelux and Scandinavia presenting. In preparation for the event, I’ve prepared a diagnostic of Vietnam Tourism. Hopefully, it will stimulate some real candor in the dialogue about how Vietnam should navigate its future course in tourism in a balanced and sustainable direction.
Vietnam Tourism Diagnostic
By Peter Semone
Late in 2007, I was invited by the South Pacific Tourism Organisation (aka South-Pacific.travel) to undertake a study on cruise tourism development in their region. Below is the executive summary. The full report can be downloaded here.
Who better to describe the nautical beauty and magic of the Pacific than James Michener? His words ring so true for today’s South Pacific.
I have been a child of aviation and travel, but it is sometimes perplexing for me to realise that in the two decades, 1890-1910, it was somewhat easier to get to the little islands than it is now, for the understandable reason that small, two-masted schooners, captained by daring skippers, found it easier and more profitable to work their way among the islands than the big airlines can do today.
- James Michener, 1992
By Peter Semone
Travel and tourism will grow to new heights in the 21st century as it becomes more accessible to a larger cross section of the global population. This will result in commensurate economic opportunities for developed and emerging destinations around the world. It will also create major challenges, not only in attracting and serving increased tourism demand, but also in mitigating the numerous potential negative externalities that will emerge as a result of tourism’s rapid growth. Successful destinations will strike a balance in developing their tourism industries by monitoring international trends, engaging tourism stakeholders, ensuring that the benefits of tourism outweigh any potential negative impacts and pledging a more equitable distribution of tourism revenue. There is good reason for countries to focus on honing their abilities in tourism: it is a big business. According to the UNWTO, 846 million international visitor arrivals generated US$735 billion (US$2 billion/day) in tourism revenue in 2006. Tourism represents 35 percent the world’s export of services and over 70 percent in the Least Development Countries. The UNWTO predicts that international tourism demand will double by 2020 to an astronomical 1.6 billion visitors generating nearly US$2 trillion in economic activity. Currently, the tourism industry is characterized by a variety of issues and trends, which present a range of inherent threats and opportunities. These include, but are not necessarily limited to: Continue reading →
