Russian visitors explore local culture in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa. Photo: VOV

Tourism industry intensifies efforts to attract foreign visitors

The Vietnamese tourism industry has been advised to develop fresh tourism products and strengthen marketing activities in foreign markets in order to further attract international visitors to the nation, according to industry insiders.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) reports that Vietnam welcomed 954,000 foreign visitors during the initial seven months of the year, representing a nine-fold rise compared to the same period last year.

Most notably, the country has continuously been listed among the world’s fastest-growing destinations, expanding by between 50% and 70% monthly since the beginning of the year, cited VOV.

Pham Van Thuy, deputy general director of the VNAT, anticipates that international arrivals to Vietnam will peak between September this year and April next year.

To achieve the goal of receiving five million international visitors this year, the tourism industry will coordinate alongside Vietnamese representative agencies, the Vietnamese Cultural Centres abroad, and partners to deploy promotion activities overseas, says Thuy.

Sharing this viewpoint, Pham Ngoc Thuy, director of the Quang Ninh provincial Department of Tourism, says the locality will continue to improve the overall quality of tourism products, promote destinations, and carry out marketing activities to elevate the image of national tourism in lucrative markets to achieve the set target.

Quang Ninh plans to work with airlines and travel agencies to launch charter flights through Van Don International Airport, Thuy reveals.

Furthermore, the executive says the Quang Ninh provincial Department of Tourism will organize a survey for travel firms, promote e-marketing activities, and accelerate digital transformation in order to gain access to new markets.

Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, director of the Khanh Hoa provincial Department of Tourism, also reveals that the locality will ramp up promotions in the Indian market to attract more Indian visitors, so as to fulfill the goal of welcoming roughly 60,000 additional visitors from this market in the remaining months of the year.

Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, says the local tourism industry plans to focus on tourism products including water tourism, and the night-time economy, along with tours that explore history, architecture and traditional craft villages in the city.

Businesses spice up the Vietnamese market

With a population of nearly 100 million and strength in cultivating spice plants, Vietnam has substantial potential for spice production, consumption and export.

According to Nielsen Market Research Company, the Vietnamese seasoning and sauce market expands by an average of 25-32% during the 2016-2022 period. Vietnamese households pose a high demand for seasoning for their meals – and it does take a lot of seasoning to make 30 million litres of soup a day, all the while the amount of fried and stir-fried dishes increased by 18 million plates and 14 million braised dishes during the weekends.

The domestic spice market has lured international groups with products like Knorr (Unilever, the UK), Aji-ngon (Ajinomoto, Japan), Miwon (Taiwan), and Maggi (Swiss-based Nestle).

Fish sauce producers also face fierce competition from such brands as Thuan Phat, Nam Ngu, Chinsu, Thuy Xua, Lien Thanh, Hanh Phuc, 584 Nha Trang, and Hong Hanh.

The spice products are available at commercial centers, supermarkets, convenience stores, e-commerce platforms – Shopee, Lazada and Tiki, to name but a few, and Facebook pages and websites of businesses. Source: tuoitre.vn

Dh Foods, a leading brand of Vietnamese food products, has offered a range of products, including Tay Ninh gourmet seasoning, Nha Trang sweet, and sour BBQ sauce, Phu Quoc spice fish sauce and natural marinate for the world-famous Pho.

The products are available at commercial centers, supermarkets, convenience stores, e-commerce platforms – Shopee, Lazada and Tiki, to name but a few, and Facebook pages and websites of businesses, according to VNA.

Speaking at a recent online conference, Le Hoang Tai, deputy head of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the condiments industry has played a significant role in the national economy as well as the country’s export orientations.

Saudi Arabia is one of the largest importers of Vietnamese spices. The Middle Eastern nation consumes many kinds of spices, mainly imported, including those from Vietnam.

Vietnam-Warsaw culture festival 2022 introduces local water puppetry

The second Vietnam-Warsaw culture festival is scheduled to get underway on August 27 in Poland, welcoming the participation of the Vietnam National Puppetry Theater for the first time.

The 16-member water puppetry delegation is set to hold art performances featuring both traditional costumes and musical instruments.

Photo: VOV

Water puppetry is an art form recognized as a part of national intangible cultural heritage, and it is being submitted to the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to be recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

In addition, visitors can discover Vietnamese culture through folk music, traditional dances in Ao Dai (long dress), martial art shows, as well as sampling Vietnamese dishes, reported VOV.

A photo exhibition illustrating the history of the Vietnamese community in Warsaw, along with some booths showcasing Vietnamese souvenirs, will also take place.

The festival was first held in 2018 by the overseas Vietnamese association and the Vietnamese Embassy in Poland with the aim of introducing traditional culture to local people and international friends.

Vietnam remains a safe destination for foreign investors

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam has yet to make a complete recovery after the disruptions resulting from measures put in place to fight Covid-19 in 2021, but additional investments in existing projects and share purchases are rebounding strongly.

Data released by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) showed that FDI pledges in the first half of 2022 reached US$14 billion, down 6.5% in terms of new projects and 48.2% in terms of capital. However, the positive trend in the investment inflow into Vietnam is the strong rise in capital adjustments, contributions, and share purchases by foreign investors.

Specifically, 487 projects filed for capital increases totaling US$6.82 billion, with these figures up 5.9% and 65.6% respectively. The average capital increase of a project was also relatively high and the trend could be seen in many electronics and high-tech manufacturing projects.

According to the FIA, rises in capital adjustment reflected the effect of inflation due to political and trade tensions, but also showed continued confidence of foreign investors in Vietnam’s economy and business environment.

The total value of capital contributions by foreign investors rose 41.4% to US$2.27 billion, while FDI disbursements were estimated at US$10 billion, up 8.9% year on year, marking the largest increase in the past five years, cited NDO.

Director of the General Statistics Office Nguyen Thi Huong said that although new capital pledges fell 8.1%, a positive trend can still be seen in detailed data, reflecting the overall recovery of manufacturing and foreign investment activities, as well as foreign investors’ continued confidence in Vietnam’s business environment as a safe and attractive investment destination.

Vietnam remains attractive to foreign investors. Photo: Thanh Dat

Commenting on the FDI prospects for the latter half of the year, the MPI cited analyses by domestic and foreign research agencies that claim the investment outlook is less positive. In this context, the FDI inflow into Vietnam continues the recovery trend thanks to the country’s successful containment of Covid-19 as well as its advantages in political and macroeconomic stability and foreign investors’ confidence in Vietnam’s policy of accompanying the business community.

A recent survey by HSBC on over 1,500 companies from the world’s six largest economies operating or having plans to operate in Southeast Asia shows that Vietnam is emerging as one of the world’s manufacturing hubs.

According to the bank, Vietnam has an enviable position that has been achieved due to the favourable policies deployed by the Government, especially around free trade agreements, while the trend of more global companies moving to Vietnam is not temporary but is actually much more long term and very strategic.

The FIA noted two points in the current FDI situation. Firstly, capital pledges are recovering over the months but the increase has not met expectations, and secondly the Russia-Ukraine conflict is projected to lead to the relocation of investment in these two countries to Asia, which can benefit Vietnam.

In order not to miss the opportunity, the MPI has suggested focusing on fine-tuning the mechanism in a way that facilitates foreign investors and introduces policies to attract quality FDI inflow that are appropriate to each sector. Vietnam should proactively implement investment promotion campaigns, work with the world’s large companies to discuss and share investment opportunities in Vietnam.

At the same time, it is necessary to enhance transport links between provinces and cities as well as step up administrative reform and improve the business climate and workforce quality. For their part, domestic companies need to enhance their technological capabilities, labour and management quality so that they can secure orders from foreign-invested companies.

Vietnam to face Hong Kong in opener at AFC U20 Asian Cup 2023 qualifiers

Vietnamese football players will play against their rivals from Hong Kong (China) in their first match on September 14 in the Qualifiers of the AFC U20 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2023.

According to the schedule freshly announced by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the team will then face Timor Leste on September 16 and the host Indonesia two days later.

Vietnam's U20 football team. Photo: Vietnam Football Federation

Gathering 44 teams, the qualifying round is divided into 10 groups whose matches will be hosted by 10 countries, reported VNA.

According to this year’s competition format, 10 winners and 5 best runners-up from the group stage will be advanced to the final round hosted by Uzbekistan from March 1 – 18, 2023. In case Uzbekistan are among the 5 best runner-up teams, a runner-up with the 6th best record will secure a slot for the finals.

For the best results at the qualifiers, the Vietnamese squad and their coach Dinh The Nam have gathered for training since July 22. The players are now in southern Binh Duong province to compete in an international U19 tournament with the participation of guest teams, including Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. The tournament will take place from August 5-11.

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