8/13/2019 Untramlled Passage

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C O V E R S T O R Y

Vietnam's

tourism infra-

structure has

been going

through a period

of development

but much more

must be done.

Untrammelled passage Writes M rPaUI. STOLL,

CEO o fCeladon International

Everyone and everythingneeds a boost from time to

time and they should bereceptive to it. Lets first

look at tourism infrastructure,

which requires reforms and, as

discussed at Party Congress X, the

State has to continue investing inorder to speed up tourism devel-

opment. Infrastructure, from a

technical point of view, includes

energy, water, communications

and transport, all o f which are in

jeopardy. The y are mercilessly

exploited, with developers seeing

no need to make a contribution.They are taken as a given. Why

spend money on it? they ask.Th ats the governments job. The

use of State bonds for tourism

infrastructure construction would

aim to stimulate more private

sector investment, optimise the

structure of tourism products,

bet ter preserve tourism resources

and help to ensure the sustainable

development of the industry. Anational tourism research organi-

sation could be a useful tool to helpensure the credibility of historical

results and future demand

forecasts, as well as generating

marketing intelligence in formation

and assessing the economic contri-

bu tion of travel and tourism. To

achieve the full potential of travel

and to urism , Vietnam s

government must treat outbound

tourism as a strategic priority onpar with inbo und tourism. In line

with the liberalisation of market

access in Vietnam, its airlines,

airports and the tourism industry

have started to reap the benefits.This is supported by favourable

government policies in regard to

visa procedures and regulations.

Tourism development is going

to slow down if transport is notimproved fast. Existing transport

by air, road, railways, rivers andthe sea are inadequate in Vietnam.

When talking about infrastructure

we talk about logistics.Adv ancem ent will drive Vietnamscompetitiveness as a business

location, paving the way for added

industrial value, the movement of

people and goods, and cooper-

ation between companies.

Logistics has the potential to

becom e a majo r indu stry and

employer for Vietnam. Celadon

International is a frontrunnersetting up tourism and

commercial logistic parks along

national highways and ineconomic zones in Vietnam and

Indochina. One of the anchor

tena nts is Best WesternInternational and we have

approached major global retailers

to paiticipate. Celadon intends to

develop the logistic park model in

the Ho Chi Minh City area in

2013.

AIRLINES

There was a time when every girl

in Vietnam wanted to be a flight

attendant and every boy a pilot. Asthis was not possible, other industries

could evolve. However, as it stands,

tourism could n ot even exist without

airlines. People in tourism have a

habit of interfering in the airline

business, for better or for worse. This

includes me, for the better.

Having promoted these flights

for years before they became real it)',

I learned its no t enough just to

attract flights. The government, theState and private sector companieshave to cooperate to sustain these

flights. Tiger Airways, Pacific

Airlines, and Thai Airways had to

withdraw or change strategies as

they did not receive support.

VietJetAir has commenced flights

recendy, which is a major contri-bu tio n to Vietnams tra nspo rt

network. Bloomberg News asked

me about the feasibility of theairline, which is great if accepted by

Vietnam Airlines and sup ported by

the government.

RAILWAYS

Eveiyone dreams of die Orient

Express from France to Turkey as

well as the TransSiberian Express

connecting Europe to Vietnam.

These are the routes where many

dreams became reality and provide

material for literature and moviesdistributed all over die world. If

Vietnams rails would allow it, the

train journey could be revived in

traditional splendour and become amajor tourism attraction. A major

tourism attraction widiin Vietnam

could be travelling on theLiberation Express from the north

ro the south o f rhe country.

Transport speed is the essence of

romance. In Vietnam trains travel

at 60 km/h and, hence, the

1,800km trip from Ho Chi Minh

City to Hanoi takes 30 hours,

excluding stops along the way.With this in mind, if trains weremore comfortable they would be

more romantic. The speed would

have to at least double to make die

same journey widiin 15 hours and

become attr active to the no n-

romantic traveller. Highspeed

trains making this trip in ten h ours

would also support business devel-

opment. Vietnam is making efforts

and in cooperation with Japan isbuilding a 1,630km express train

route from Hanoi to H o Chi M inh

City. The project cast is estimated

at $33 billion and the trains will

travel at up to 300350km /h.

ROAD TOURISM

Wh en travelling along National

V ietnam Ec o n o m i c T imes , M ay 2 0 1 2 12