Come & Go Vietnam Blog

I’m just back from ITB Asia 2011, which was as enjoyable as always, meeting old friends & partners and hopefully some potential new clients as well.

Your guess is as good as mine

For the second – and last – time, we were exhibiting on the Vietnam stand, and here, in all its glory, is this year’s slogan:

Visit Vietnam Year 2012
Hue, the Middle World Heritage Road

Really trips off the tongue doesn’t it. Ignoring Visit Vietnam Year 2012 (does this mean that 2011 is Avoid Vietnam Year?), let’s look at the second line.  Hue, the Middle World Heritage Road. Any ideas what it might mean? The “middle world” bit sounds somewhat Tolkienesque, suggesting a late attempt to cash in on Lord of the Rings fever (well, Vietnam is in Asia-Pacific, same as New Zealand…). “Heritage road”? I was under the impression that Hue was a city; turns out it’s actually just a road.

Once again, Vietnam does its level best to put people off visiting. Why focus on Hue alone in a country with plenty of visitor attractions? Why not let a native English speaker proofread the slogan, in order to come up with something that actually makes sense? Why not outsource the whole marketing & stand design to people who know what they’re doing? Why why why?

Luckily they let me design my own booth

On this blog I often bemoan the complete lack of market research conducted into the preferences of overseas visitors to Vietnam, an omission which results in a complete lack of understanding of the desires and needs of tourist visitors to Vietnam.

Here’s a prime example in today’s Thanh Nien News. A couple of excerpts to illustrate my point:

Tourists seeking the authentic traditions of Vietnam’s Tet Lunar New Festival are expected to help tourism outfits in the central province of Binh Thuan weather the economic downturn after a slow year, experts said.

Le Ngoc Ha, vice chairman of Binh Thuan Tourism Association, said many tourists were traveling to avoid the winter in their home countries and to see and enjoy a vibrant Vietnamese Tet.

The celebrating programs have already included a banh chung (traditional

Better than the beach

square rice cakes) making contest for foreign tourists at Seahorse Resort in Mui Ne.

I doubt very much that many of these tourists were even aware of the existence of Tet when they booked their trips – if they had been, they would probably have avoided travelling to Vietnam at this time of year. Any tourists coming to Vietnam specifically to experience Tet would almost certainly go to Hanoi, Saigon, Hoi An or Hue, all cities with considerable Tet-related activity – after all, a contemporary beach resort is hardly the place to experience traditional customs.

Many of the tourists filling Mui Ne’s beach resorts next week are in fact Saigon-based expats, keen to avoid the hysteria that envelopes the city at this time of year and get some peace & quiet instead. Were I not so busy in the office, I’d be joining them!

From today’s Travel Daily Asia:

Banyan Tree has held a ground-breaking ceremony for one of Vietnam’s largest integrated resorts. The Laguna Hue will be situated on 280 hectares of beachfront land in central Vietnam. When completed, Laguna Hue will incorporate over 2,000 rooms across seven internationallybranded hotel and resort operators, as well as spas, a championship golf course, resort residences, convention facilities and a “town centre” with retail and recreation facilities.

The development of Laguna Hue will be funded through the US$283 million Banyan Tree Indochina Hospitality Fund, the real estate investment fund founded by Banyan Tree in 2008. Development costs for the first phase of the project are estimated at US$200 million, and will include the Banyan Tree Hue and Angsana Hue resorts, which together will comprise 350 rooms, and 18-hole golf course designed by Nick Faldo, as well as a brand resort residence. The development is scheduled toopen by 2012.

This first foray into the Indochina region is a significant milestone for Banyan Tree, and we are delighted to share this momentous occasion with our valuable partners in the Fund who have helped make Laguna Hue a reality,” said the group’s Executive Chairman, Ho Kwon Ping.