The municipal authorities should also study the market from a large database to identify groups of tourists whose preference and travel behavior can be met by local tourism products
Two months ago, Hoang Thi Phong Thu, a businesswoman who provides services for Russian tourists, spent several days surveying orchid gardens in Cu Chi (HCMC) in search of new attractions.After many years bringing Russian tourists to HCMC, her tour programs have become familiar, forcing Thu to look for something new for her clients. However, the new destinations and services promoted by the city’s tourism authorities are not enough for this tour operator to include in her itineraries. Therefore, she has to find some on her own.
“Russian tourists are not interested in the jewelry quarter or the oriental medicine quarter [two among the new tourist attractions recently promoted by the authorities], but they love to pay a visit to tropical fruit and orchid gardens like these,” she said. With proper promotion, orchid gardens in Cu Chi would not only become an attractive destination for tourists but also boost the export value of this flower species as more and more Russians would buy orchids during their trip in Vietnam.
The above story partly reveals a problem of the tourism industry in HCMC. That is, while tour operators are “thirsty” for products to offer their clients and always complaining about the insufficient, obsolete and uninteresting services and attractions in the city, the new features promoted by the authorities like the jewelry quarter, the oriental medicine quarter, the walking street, and waterway tours have not been included in the tours of many operators.
Reasons for this abound. New products are not accompanied by relevant services. Nor they connected to the market, etc. For example, when coming to the jewelry quarter, many tourists do not have the need to buy gold, silver or jewelry, but they wish to experience the atmosphere of a specialized area. Yet, most of the shops there have neither artisans on site, nor services offered to tourists. A tourist company has recently launched a service which enables its visitors to experience the craft of goldsmithing, silversmithing and jewelry making in this quarter. Much to its disappointment, the space there is limited, not suitable for large groups of visitors.
At the seminar called “State Management of Tourism in HCMC—25 Years of Success and Challenge” recently organized by the HCMC Department of Tourism, the fact that new tourism products must be linked to the market, and that the authorities must understand the need of tour operators and visitors to address it, instead of developing generic products, was cited again by participants.
Besides traditional groups, to lure new visitors, the municipal tourism sector needs to redefine its market, with strategic orientations and a clearer approach. The municipal authorities should also study the market from a large database to identify groups of tourists whose preference and travel behavior can be met by local tourism products, or else new products would keep coming yet tour operators would still complain there was nothing for them to offer their clients.
On the creation of new products, some entrepreneurs suggested the rapid development of large shopping centers to promote shopping tours so that more visitors will come in the future. Investing in nighttime entertainment services is another urgent need, they said. Moreover, HCMC should join hands with other localities to develop regional tourism products, like cooperating with Ba Ria-Vung Tau to promote leisure travel, with Tay Ninh to design tours to relic sites, or with the Mekong Delta provinces to go for green tourism.
“However, whatever the products are, it is important to identify the market to find the right products,” said Nguyen Quoc Ky, general director of Vietravel.
Another tour operator, Vo Anh Tai, deputy general director of Saigontourist, proposed another measure for developing new products. That is not only focus on creating completely new products but also improving the value and quality of the existing ones.
“Why is the downtown, where there are the main attractions such as the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Central Post Office, always crowded with tourists? It is because many of them still want to go there. So, what we need to do is to improve the quality of the services there, make the environment and sanitation better to give them a more enjoyable experience,” he said, citing the appeal of the Eiffel Tower to tourists as an example of making new products based on inherent strengths. Every year, visitors around the world still flock to this tower not only because it is one of the symbols of France but also due to the glamour created by the changes in its decoration and lighting.
Along with making the downtown cleaner, the city should re-plan this area, linking it to Dong Khoi Street to form a high-end shopping and sightseeing route, Tai suggested. In addition, the tourism authorities should survey the attractions tourists must visit when in HCMC and enhance the quality of services there to make tourists more satisfied. “These things will provide the city with attractive products based on its inherent advantages, meeting the needs of the market and adding to the charm of tourism,” said Tai.
