Tourism information kiosks revive

Five years ago, the projects on installing tourism information kiosks in HCM City were kicked off and failed. However, the business has revived since investors now can see the ways they have to go.
In 2008, some travel and ad firms started their projects on developing tourism information kiosks – the touch screens integrated with the information relating to the travelers’ trips. These were believed to be very useful to travelers, especially foreigners, who can check information themselves when necessary.
The kiosks were planned to be located on the main routes in the central districts, including districts 1 and 3. Some travel firms even set up tourism information centers. One of them was the one on the Thong Nhat Hall, which not only provided information, but also gave advices to travelers.
The information kiosks and centers then lived on the money they collected from the enterprises’ ad pieces posted at the kiosks and the money from service providing.
However, the tourism information kiosk projects then died just after a short time of operation. Only several information centers have existed.
Y, a businesswoman in district 1, said she spent tens of billions of dong to import touch screens, popularize services and employ workers to serve the tourism information kiosk project. However, she later had to recall the screens installed at hotels, tourism points and stop the project. Both travelers and targeted ad clients were not interested in the service.
“We thought that travelers would check information at the kiosks, therefore, the kiosks would attract ad pieces. However, we later found out that very few clients wanted to post ad pieces there, while very few travelers came to look for information,” Y said.
The clients did not have confidence on the effects of posting ad pieces on touch screens, therefore, they did not intend to book ad packages. At that time, at the end of 2008 and early 2009, the number of foreign travelers, the most important targeted clients of the information kiosks, decreased sharply. The factors both led to the failure of the projects.
However, many information kiosks have revived recently. Tourists now can find some information centers on the central streets of Nguyen Hue, Dong Khoi, Le Loi, Le Thanh Ton, where they not only can receive consultancy, get maps and tourism publications free of charge, but also can book tours and services.
Doanh Thi Thanh Tra from Saigontourist said the travel firm has set up two tourism information centers in HCM City. She said the key to success is the interaction with travelers.
If travelers want to look for information, they can do this with their mobile phones or tablets. However, if they need advices, they would need experienced officers from travel firms.
Y thinks that the new way of doing business would help settle the problems which kept people away from information kiosks in the past.
“Travelers need to exchange information and need advices. Meanwhile, the touch screens cannot help them,” she said, explaining why touch screen projects failed.
Y said that she would consider resuming the projects on information kiosks and running them in a new way. However, she would keep waiting and seeing for sometime to learn more about the market demand.
The HCM City Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is planning to set up four information centers at the city’s post office, Lam Son Park, Tan Son Nhat Airport and Ben Thanh Market.