1

Developing Marketing Strategy for Tourism Industry in

Transition Economies

---- The case study of Vietnam to attract more international visitors ---

Tables of Contents

Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 3

Tables of Contents ............................................................................................................................... 1

Abstract 4

List of Figures 5

List of Tables 6

Chapter 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 7

1.1 Rationales for chosen topic .......................................................................................... 7

1.2 Research aim and objectives ........................................................................................ 8

1.3 Research object and scopes .......................................................................................... 8

1.4 Research methodology ................................................................................................. 9

1.5 Research structure ........................................................................................................ 9

Chapter 2. Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 11

2.1 Tourism Industry ........................................................................................................ 11

2.1.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 11

2.1.2 Vietnam’s tourism strategy .......................................................................................... 11

2.2 Tourism Marketing .................................................................................................... 11

2.2.1 Basic Theory of Marketing .......................................................................................... 11

2.2.2 Destination Marketing.................................................................................................. 11

2.2.3 Tourism Marketing Strategy ........................................................................................ 11

2.3 Tourism Product Development .................................................................................. 11

2.3.1 Product Development in Tourism Agency Services: Personalized ............................. 11

2.3.2 Content of Innovations in Tourism Services: Differentiation ...................................... 11

2.3.3 Variety of Innovations in Tourism Agency Services: Diversification ......................... 11

2.4 Implementation of tourism marketing activities in Vietnam ..................................... 11

2.4.1 Promoting the image of Vietnam’s tourism to international tourists ........................... 11

2.4.2 Strategic implementation ............................................................................................. 11

Chapter 3. Methodology .............................................................................................................. 12

3.1 Research strategy ....................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Research approach ..................................................................................................... 12

3.3 Data collection ........................................................................................................... 12

3.4 Data analysis and interpretation ................................................................................. 12

3.4.1 Data analysis ................................................................................................................ 12

3.4.2 Data interpretation........................................................................................................ 12

3.5 Summary .................................................................................................................... 12

Chapter 4. Results and Discussion............................................................................................... 13

4.1 Outcomes of marketing activities .............................................................................. 13

4.1.1 The number of international tourists to Vietnam ......................................................... 13

4.2 Results from statistic analysis .................................................................................... 13

4.2.1 The number of international tourists ............................................................................ 13

4.2.2 The rate of international tourists return........................................................................ 13

4.2.3 The number of days of stay .......................................................................................... 13

4.2.4 Assessment of attracting international tourists ............................................................ 13

4.3 Summary .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations .......................................................................... 14

References Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix Error! Bookmark not defined.

3

Acknowledgements

First, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Professor ...., who has

supported me throughout my dissertation, especially during the preparation, with his patience and

knowledge.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank many friendly and cheerful friends of mine, who

has been blessed me in my daily work as well as her valuable feedbacks and also helps in collecting

data.

Finally, thanks also to my family, especially my beloved parents, who accomplished without

complaints for their support and help throughout this study and my personal life, as well. Many

thanks to my family and friends, without them; it would have been certainly much harder to finish

my degree far away from my motherland.

Abstract

This dissertation address a critical problem to solve is how to attract more international tourists

to Vietnam in the near future; and thus, indicate a need of investigating a marketing strategy for

tourism industry in purpose of attracting more international tourists in Vietnam. Moreover, this

study also analyzes the factors affecting the attraction of international tourists; and identifies the

strength and weakness of marketing strategy employed in tourism industry. On the basic of

understanding the current stage of Vietnamese tourism industry in attracting international visitors,

recommendations are proposed in order to further develop the tourism industry. Literature review is

provided for a general view of tourism industry in the world and in Vietnam as well as theoretical

background in tourism marketing and tourism product development. For the study purposes, data is

collected from various sources, both online and offline sources, as well as categorized and analyzed

for research’s observations and discussions.

5

List of Figures

Figure 4-1 Number of international tourists to Vietnam, from 2004 to 2011Error! Bookmark

not defined.

Figure 4-2 Number of tourists to Vietnam by travelling way ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.

List of Tables

Table 4-1 Structure of international tourists to Vietnam in some particular markets ........... Error!

Bookmark not defined.

Table 4-2 The growth rate of tourist arrivals to Vietnam in some particular markets .......... Error!

Bookmark not defined.

Table 4-3 Structure of international tourists to Vietnam by travelling purposeError! Bookmark

not defined.

Table 4-4 The growth of international tourists by travelling purposeError! Bookmark not

defined.

Table 4-5 The growth rate of international tourists....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Rationales for chosen topic

Tourism nowadays becomes an increasingly common business and one of the most fast-growing

industries in the world according to the statistics of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO, 2007).

Tourism not only generates a great income for the whole economy, creates vast job opportunities,

improves the infrastructure at the same time stimulates the growth of other service industries, but

also becomes the base to promote the mutual peace and cultural understanding among nations

(Terry, 1997). Thanks to its tremendous contribution to the national economy, particularly and the

country as a whole, tourism has become a key economic sector in many countries around the world

such as UAE, Egypt, Greece, Thailand, etc. (Tsiotsou and Goldsmith, 2012). In Vietnam, under the

enormous impact of tourism, the Ninth Party Congress clearly stated that: It is really important to

develop tourism to become a spearhead economic sector in our country (VOVNews,2011).

Therefore, by that way the tourism industry in Vietnam has grown rapidly in the past few years.

Vietnam has been considered as one of the safest destinations in the world, has been attracting more

and more international tourists to come to learn about the country, people and culture (Bui, 2011).

However, when the financial crisis erupted in 2008, the global travel was soon involved and

strongly affected by this crisis due to the sensitive nature of tourism industry itself. Thus, the

number of international visitors to Vietnam in the late 2010 and early 2011 has dropped

significantly; sales derived from tourism dropped dramatically followed by a range of tourism

businesses in trouble (Hummel et al., 2012). Under these circumstances, a critical problem to solve

is how to attract more international tourists to Vietnam in the near future to further develop the

tourism industry - the golden industry of countries in general and Vietnam in particular. Thus, there

is a need of investigating a marketing strategy for tourism industry in purpose of attracting more

international tourists in Vietnam, to be specific and in transitional economies, to be larger.

1.2 Research aim and objectives

Under the situation of continuous decline of international tourists to Vietnam, this study is aimed

to find out the causes of what restricts international visitors to Vietnam and on that basis, propose

some solutions in order to further attract international tourists to Vietnam in the context that the

global financial crisis is spreading at a greater speed, and Vietnam is deeply and quickly integrating

into the world economy after the participation to WTO.

The dissertation represents three main objectives as follows:

1. Present an overview of the international tourism market in Vietnam during the period

from 2004 to 2011

2. Analyze the factors affecting the attraction of international tourists and its current status

in our country in the period 2004 - 2011,

3. Review the existing strengths as well as weaknesses of the tourism industry in Vietnam

in the period in which the global financial crisis is spreading at a greater speed, and

Vietnam is deeply and quickly integrating into the world economy after the participation

to WTO.

4. With the focus on the marketing strategy, the research points out the direction for the

development of the tourism industry in Vietnam in the coming years

5. Propose solutions to further attract international tourists to Vietnam in the context that

the global financial crisis is spreading at a greater speed and Vietnam is deeply and

quickly integrating into the world economy after the participation to WTO.

1.3 Research object and scopes

Object of the research is the activities of attracting international tourists. The issue of attracting

international tourists can be approached from the macro perspective (a country) and micro

perspective (firms in the tourism sector); however, this article mainly refers to activities of

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attracting international tourists on the macro perspective (standing on the perspective of a nation) to

present and explaining the theoretical basis and practical issues.

The scope of the research topic includes the time and space of the study.

1. In terms of time of the study: Data of the analysis are taken from 2004 - 2011 and

proposal of directions and solutions is targeted in 2015.

2. In terms of space of the study: The research spanning not only covers the territory of

Vietnam, but is also expanded worldwide.

1.4 Research methodology

The logic method is applied to systemize all the relating issues in order to critically build the

reasoning framework for analyzing the status of attracting international tourists to Vietnam during

the period from 2004 to 2011 with a view to, based on that analysis, draw out the advantages and

shortcomings in the problem of international tourist attraction during this period, while clearly

pointing out the causes leading to the drawbacks. The method of economic analysis is applied to

analyze the fluctuation of the surrounding environmental factors that affect the activities of

attracting international tourists to Vietnam in the context of deeper integration into WTO, with an

aim to propose strategies and solutions to further attract international tourists to Vietnam in 2015.

1.5 Research structure

Besides the introduction, conclusion and reference list, the main contents of the study consist of

5 chapters as follows:

Chapter 1: Overview about the dissertation

Chapter 2: General theory of attracting international tourists in the context of the global financial

crisis and the literature review on the current state of tourism industry

Chapter 3: Present the research methodology in order to achieve the study purpose

Chapter 4: Demonstrate the study results and discussion on tourism industry in Vietnam in the

period 2004-2011

Chapter 5: Conclude observations and achievement throughout the study as well as the proposal

of orientation and some solutions.

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Chapter 2. Literature Review

This chapter provides the theoretical background for the present research project. It aims to

explain and analyze the main issues raised by previous works in the field of destination branding.

The significant themes identified will be used to examine the findings of the research.

2.1 Tourism Industry

2.1.1 Overview

2.1.2 Vietnam’s tourism strategy

2.2 Tourism Marketing

2.2.1 Basic Theory of Marketing

2.2.2 Destination Marketing

2.2.3 Tourism Marketing Strategy

2.3 Tourism Product Development

2.3.1 Product Development in Tourism Agency Services: Personalized

2.3.2 Content of Innovations in Tourism Services: Differentiation

2.3.3 Variety of Innovations in Tourism Agency Services: Diversification

2.4 Implementation of tourism marketing activities in Vietnam

2.4.1 Promoting the image of Vietnam’s tourism to international tourists

2.4.2 Strategic implementation

Chapter 3. Methodology

3.1 Research strategy

3.2 Research approach

3.3 Data collection

3.4 Data analysis and interpretation

3.4.1 Data analysis

3.4.2 Data interpretation

3.5 Summary

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Chapter 4. Results and Discussion

The research objective of chapter 1, as mention at the beginning of the study, is to analyze and

evaluate the status of attracting international tourists into Vietnam during the period 2001-2008 as

the basis for proposing orientation and practical solutions to further attract international tourists into

Vietnam in 2015. In order to achieve this goal, this chapter will not only make a detailed and deep

analysis and evaluation of all the factors that affect the activities of attracting international tourists

into Vietnam during the period from 2001 until 2008, but also present one of the most remarkable

achievements that the tourism sector in Vietnam has gained during this period in terms of attracting

more international tourists with mainly focus on marketing strategy.

4.1 Outcomes of marketing activities

4.1.1 The number of international tourists to Vietnam

4.2 Results from statistic analysis

4.2.1 The number of international tourists

4.2.2 The rate of international tourists return

4.2.3 The number of days of stay

4.2.4 Assessment of attracting international tourists

Chapter 5. Conclusions and Recommendations

Tourism is increasingly proving its role in the economy of a nation. Vietnam may have many

good conditions to improve the strengths of the tourism sector and tourism development in the

coming time is very urgent task. To further attract international tourists to Vietnam is one of the

most important methods to promote the development of tourism. After doing research on topic,

review the goals set at the beginning, we can make some conclusions as follows:

Based on data collection and processing, the study has made a deep analysis on the situation of

attracting international tourists to Vietnam in the period 2004 - 20011, making evaluation on the

opportunities and challenges that Vietnam encountered in the context of global financial crisis and

deeper integration into WTO in the period 2004 - 2011, presenting the orientation to further attract

international tourists to Vietnam in 2015 and then proposing several solutions to enhance the

attraction to International tourists in the coming period.

It can be seen clearly that Vietnam used to be known in the whole wide world to be a country of

war. After the ending of Vietnam War, it is still a poor under developed country so far. At present,

the country is on the rise, Vietnam has been voted in the area to be among the safest destinations,

with political and social stability, which is a great advantage for Vietnam. It is required to know

how to take advantage of this opportunity to further promote the image of our country to the world.

Currently, Vietnam is known as an attractive destination with spectacular natural sceneries, many

natural heritage and culture, friendly people, hospitality, food abundance, culture - diversity,

beautiful beaches. In the early years of the 21st century, with the slogan "Vietnam - Destination of

the new millennium" and now "Vietnam - the Hidden Charm" has contributed to convey a message,

and appealed to foreign tourists. Our motto is to achieve "One more a foreigner coming to Vietnam,

Vietnam add a new friend" - this slogan is a great enhancement of friendly hospitality of the

Vietnamese. Along with the promotional activities and present the image of Vietnam to the world,

we have attracted a relatively big number of tourists in recent years. However in the current context

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of the constant financial crisis, Besides solutions already given by the tourism industry such as the

implement a promotional campaign, promote the image of the country, and the people in that

country, increasingly participate in regional and international conferences, take part in festivals,

fairs and exhibitions about tourism, the market launch phase, the Vietnam Culture Week in foreign

countries, the study tours for journalists and foreign television, for tour operators to visit and

explore the tourism potential of Vietnam ... we should also add other activities:

Develop a marketing strategy for Vietnam's tourism - tourism that is currently lacking in the

work of tourist attractions is the professionalism that should need to build the strategic plan for

tourism marketing activities Vietnam to determine the advantages of tourism in Vietnam compared

to other competitors. To implement this solution, we need to use other means to promote flexible,

easy to access and update information. Building national image based on cultural and natural

resources are so varied that I could create the impression of international tourists to Vietnam. The

content of the solution include tasks such as: Setting up a representative office in the national

tourism market potential key as Japan, Korea, France, Germany, UK, Australia, the United States.

Establish a network of tourism information with clear instructions, answer travelers' questions.

Which regularly travel publications such as magazines, leaflets with the logo, the slogan of Vietnam

Tourism. Regular presence at fairs, conferences and seminars on tourism cooperation with Vietnam

Airlines. VNAT should have specific plans for participation in fairs and international tourism

conference to learn from experience and business organizations for Vietnam to join under one roof

in addition to organizing road-show to promote public relations in the key markets and potential.

Incorporating with Vietnam Airlines to coordinate research in the routes to these markets in order to

create favorable conditions for travelers to Vietnam. There is also collaboration to build and

distribute promotional publications on flights of Vietnam Airlines.

These jobs will bring Vietnam's tourism to the world, communicate and learn from the

experiences of other countries, to broaden understanding. With the specific task such as setting up

representative offices or regular presence at fairs, conferences on tourism ... is an advertising

method is highly effective Vietnam, instead of the form only ads in the papers or television, the

tourists around the world will see tourism in Vietnam more clearly, and will certainly leave them far

more impressive.

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