Weak marketing hurts Vietnam's tourism growth

   Terraced rice fields in northern Vietnam. Photo by Ngo Quang Phuc - VnExpress Photo Contest

Vietnam is failing to exploit the country’s potential as a magnet for tourists as it hasn’t put enough effort into promotion activities.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism said the number of foreign tourists to the Southeast Asian country has grown consistently to reach 7.94 million last year, which ranks Vietnam fifth among 11 countries in the region for tourist arrivals, below Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

The country, however, has shown little effort in promoting tourism with a budget of only $2 million per year, the administration added, which is about 2.9 percent of Thailand’s investment in tourism promotion, 2.5 percent of Singapore and 1.9 percent of Malaysia.

The administrators said due to lack of promotion efforts, Vietnam’s tourism industry has failed to maintain its growth momentum.

Over the five-year period of 2011-2015, the average annual growth rate of Vietnam’s tourism sector was recorded at seven percent, compared to Thailand’s 12 percent and Singapore’s 10 percent.

Vietnam has not only lagged behind the best performers in the region, but also grown slower than Myanmar (51 percent) and Laos (15 percent).

By An Hong / VnExpress