The open-door policy, market positioning, visa easing and business readiness... are the solutions mentioned by the Chairman of Thien Minh Group in the talk.
Talkshow The Risk , broadcast on October 28, delves into the story of the tourism industry - the field most affected by Covid-19. The program is hosted by host Nguyen Phi Van and guest with 27 years of experience in the industry - Mr. Tran Trong Kien - Chairman of the National Tourism Advisory Council and Chairman of Thien Minh Group.
According to Mr. Tran Trong Kien, Covid-19 has brought destruction that has never happened in nearly 50 years. The world tourism industry dropped heavily, 80% of shops and companies closed, hundreds of millions of jobs were lost and billions of people were affected by travel restrictions. In 2020, Vietnam's tourism revenue will decrease by more than 60%, the number of visitors will decrease by more than 40%. In the 4th wave, there has been no tourism activity in the past 3 months. It is estimated that about 80% of tourism businesses have stopped operating, 50% of hotels have to close, and about 2 million people have lost their jobs in the past 18 months.
Host Nguyen Phi Van and Mr. Tran Trong Kien in the talk show Risk. Photo: S-world
In 2019, Thien Minh Group set a revenue target for 2020 of VND 3,000 billion, but the pandemic has completely affected investment and business decisions. Sales dropped to 656 billion, the business lost nearly 350 billion. The number of employees decreased from 2,000 people to 1,300 people. "In Thien Minh's 27 years of development, this is the first year we've seen a decrease in revenue and a decrease in the number of employees," said Mr. Kien.
In order to overcome the Covid-19 storm, the business management board focuses on the following pillars: ensuring the safety of customers and the community; reduce costs by reducing projects that are not viable, have no chance in the next 24 months; cash flow management to ensure long-term cash flow for salary; Find the remaining revenue streams.
Previously 85% of revenue was in international tourism, now Thien Minh is looking to invest in the domestic market. Subsidiaries such as Hai Au switched to specialized sightseeing products for Vietnamese people, such as Ha Long Bay, hotels opening to serve Vietnamese people. Hai Au Airlines finds other needs such as private jet. In addition to selling tours, domestic air tickets, Ivivu sells food delivered at home. The destination management business quickly built up subsidiaries in Europe, generating new revenue.
In addition to the 4 pillars of crisis management, Thien Minh Group has prepared 4 pillars to seize new opportunities. Enterprises promote training, invest in digital transformation, merge asset structure, and expand markets that promise an early recovery such as China, Europe and the US...
The analysis of new tourist groups was discussed in the Singaporeimagine Global Conversations forum organized by the Singapore Tourism Board. Mr. Kien said: the technology experience group (wander must) are young tourists, paying more attention to new technologies, VR virtual reality as well as technologies that increase reality experience. Meanwhile, groups of middle-aged, older visitors who are more interested in cultural experiences, self-experience and tend to go closer are described as mindful explorers. And finally, the slow pacer group is not only interested in safety, but also mental health is a priority in the trip, so they want to stay in hotels far from the center and have rooms. isolated...
In addition, the big change that Mr. Kien noticed is that the length of stay will be longer. Sea tourism also witnessed a jump in growth, attracting tourists from Asia and Western Europe. Besides, the activities of experience tourism, discovery and city tourism will also attract a strong wander must group.
Mr. Tran Trong Kien, Chairman of Thien Minh Group. Photo: NVCC
"Vietnam should reposition as a strategic market as well as open it early and safely. At the same time, there should be priority policies to support guests such as visa exemption, longer visas for those markets, or allow them to open their doors earlier than their competitors," suggested Mr. Kien.
During the program, host Nguyen Phi Van also mentioned the new trends and business models that were launched and discussed in the Singaporeimagine Global Conversations forum to adapt to the needs and expectations of the new group of visitors and post-pandemic future. Like "phygital" - travel combined with virtual reality technology or "travel by design" - find new architectural works, tourism models create new experiences.
According to Kien, "phygital" - here is virtual reality technology - augmented reality VR / AR will appear in Vietnam's tourism industry in the next 6-12 months. Vietnam also has many "travel by design" projects, designed by the world's leading architects, for example, Ho Chi Minh City has Mgallery. Meanwhile, the online to offline model has not had any successful examples.
If Singapore chooses sustainable tourism as one of its spearheads, Vietnam also considers this an important orientation in its development strategy.
However, Mr. Kien said that Vietnam's products are currently not sustainable enough, not complying with the regulations on the four pillars of environment, conservation, local people and climate change. "Government policy should express them in terms of conditions, requirements, incentives, and disincentives for corporate actions. Singapore is an example that not only encourages but also has sanctions to demand the actions of businesses. participating enterprises", said Chairman of Thien Minh Group.
Talking about solutions to restore tourism, Mr. Kien said that the industry needs to be active again. The government also needs a relatively clear roadmap to open up, ready in terms of operations as well as policies.
As with Decree 138, the Government has just issued on October 1, making the business community very excited and excited when it opens. At that time, Thien Minh's hotel in Hanoi was open, employees were allowed to go to work; Shops and restaurants are opened to serve employees, and people outside can eat 50% of the time. But if that information is provided 1-2 weeks ago, the readiness will be higher.
Assessing the opportunity to open tourism, Mr. Kien said that Vietnam is being evaluated as a green zone in Europe and the UK. "Vietnam's policy, choosing the market, repositioning the visa policy, opening the door and at the same time ensuring that domestic businesses are ready, I believe that in a short time, we can reopen our doors. safely," he said.
Vietnam can learn a lot from the recommendations of the United Nations, European countries, the UK, the US, Singapore and Thailand... In which, Mr. Kien emphasized issues: the leading role. in the Government, it is mandatory to have a special working group; epidemiological problems; Immunization background must be good, vaccination rate must be over 70%. "In particular, we can learn from Singapore the ability to handle medical incidents related to the number of hospitals, the number of ICU beds, the amount of oxygen...", Mr. Kien said.
A second lesson from Singapore is "not to isolate with certain groups of countries that are considered safe". According to the Chairman of the National Tourism Advisory Council, it is possible to require guests to be tested 72 hours before flying, or prescribe vaccines. Next, Vietnam also needs to simplify procedures from visas to requests with customers. When opening, some countries like Israel forced all tourists to go on the tour, not outside the tour. Some European countries restrict by having to stay at the hotel for 3-5 days before leaving. These requirements were subsequently removed.
In addition, Vietnam needs to provide early, complete and accurate information and communicate regularly with partner markets. One lesson from the Singapore Tourism Board is to update the policy situation and changes weekly, thereby gaining trust from the market.
The Singapore government is highly appreciated for its reopening policies. Photo: Getty Images
"I appreciate the creativity of Singaporeans, young and dynamic people who are always trying new things. I think Vietnam has no shortage of such people," said President Thien Minh.
For Vietnam's tourism to recover, Mr. Kien said that workers in the industry still need to be consistent, dedicated and constantly trying. With the careful preparation of the Government and businesses in the Vietnamese industry, Japan and Singapore are the three countries that will have the best recovery in 2022.
