Tourists barely dipping toes into Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY - With its long
coastline, stunning mountains,
fascinating history and charming
colonial-era cities, Vietnam should
be overrun with tourists.
But travellers have yet to flock in,
leaving some foreign investors high
and dry with empty hotels or licences
for tourist developments unlikely to
see the light of day.
That does not mean foreign tourists
dislike the Vietnam experience, but
many find the country expensive
despite the widespread poverty, the
infrastructure lacking and the touts
too persistent.
Highlighting the problem, the April
edition of the official Vietnam
Economic Times monthly said return
foreign tourists amounted to only one
percent of total arrivals, although
Vietnam's tourist department insists
the figure is more than 10 percent.
``People don't return to Vietnam
because the destination is not
relaxing enough. That's why people
go back to Thailand,'' said Eric
Merlin, executive director of
Exotissimo Travel Vietnam Co Ltd.
``Here travel can be quite tough,'' he
told Reuters.
ARMY OF TOUTS
Walk across the main boulevard in
front of the venerable Continental
Hotel, setting for part of Graham
Greene's novel ``The Quiet
American'' and a favourite watering
hole of journalists during the Vietnam
War, and you will see why.
An army of touts, postcard sellers
and beggars accost the unsuspecting
tourist and sometimes make off with
wallets.
While such problems confront
tourists all over the world, Vietnam
offers few sites where travellers can
really relax.
A quiet stroll around picturesque
Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi? A
peaceful sampan trip up the Perfume
River from Hue? Catch a few rays
on the beach at Nha Trang? Forget
it.
Even out among the striking
limestone rock formations of
northern Halong Bay, made famous
by the French film ``Indochine''
starring Catherine Deneuve, touts
pull alongside the various pleasure
craft and try to make a sale.
Do Van Hoang, general director of
the country's largest tour operator,
Saigon Tourist, told Reuters the
authorities were well aware of the
hassles confronting travellers and
said efforts were being made to
make Vietnam more relaxing.
Official figures obtained by Reuters
show less than 600,000 foreign
tourists visited last year from
690,000 the previous year, a drop
the government blamed on Asia's
economic crisis.
Hanoi lumps tourist figures with total
arrivals, including business and
official visitors, ending up with a
figure of 1.5 million last year from
1.7 million in 1997.
It is seeking two million total visitors
this year, compared with nearby
Thailand which aims to attract a
whopping 8.2 million tourists during
the same period.
Numerous other obstacles hinder an
influx of tourists, say operators, but
they add that Vietnam has made
reasonable strides since it opened the
door to foreign travellers following
the adoption of economic reforms in
the late 1980s.
Regional competitors Thailand,
Indonesia, the Philippines and
Malaysia have all had a big
headstart, they add.
LITTLE OVERSEAS PROMOTION
Nevertheless, tourist visas -- $50
each at the Vietnamese embassy in
Paris for example -- little overseas
promotion about the country, a lack
of resorts for the mass tourist market
and the absence of private sector
initiative shackle the industry,
operators say.
In addition, foreign airlines only fly
into southern Ho Chi Minh City,
formerly Saigon, and Hanoi, although
regular international flights are soon
expected into Danang in central
Vietnam.
Sapa, a hill-station perched high in
northern mountains near the Chinese
border, could probably develop into
one of Vietnam's favourite
attractions.
Home to various ethnic minorities
and stunning treks, the town should
be a must-see for any visitor. But the
10-hour trip by car over bumpy
roads puts many off.
``Vietnam is interesting and carries a
sense of adventure, but it sure is
taxing,'' said one American tourist.
Merlin, who has been bringing
French tourists to Vietnam since the
early 1990s, said Hanoi realised the
country was not competitive enough
and needed to spend more on
promotion.
The emphasis should also be on
mass market attractions, such as
seaside resorts, with only a little bit
of culture thrown in, he added.
Hoang from state-run Saigon Tourist
had other ideas.
He said Vietnam was trying to
differentiate itself from the beaches of
Bali and Phuket by developing
tourism mainly around cultural and
historical sites.
``Our focus is to say to tourists we
have something different,'' he said.
Hoang said the government had
planned a foray into the mass tourist
market with seaside resorts but this
was shelved when the Asian
economic crisis hit two years ago.
He said of several recommendations
made by Saigon Tourist to the
government, one was to relax the
visa rules. ``It would not be difficult
for Vietnam to scrap visa
requirements but other countries
would have to reciprocate,'' he
added.
Reuters - May 20, 1999.
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