Tourism industry targets 12mln foreign visitors

The tourism industry plans to earn 8.9 billion USD in 2015 when the country expects to welcome 12 million foreign visitors and host 28 million domestic travellers, according to a draft on tourism development from 2010-2020.
The industry would earn 15.9 billion USD in revenue in 2020, which would contribute to 6 percent of GDP, according to the draft.
Nguyen Manh Cuong, deputy head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said the development plan was drafted after his administration extensively surveyed related ministries and sectors.
The draft would be submitted to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for approval, Cuong said.
In this period, the Vietnamese tourism sector would promote products rather than images, said the deputy head of the Marketing Department under the National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong.
The country's tourism sector has so far created specific tourism products to attract visitors.
Officials are now eyeing Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) events and health care tourism as potential sectors that might attract tourists from Southeast and Northeast Asia.
The industry will also need to focus on attracting more tourists from the EU, North America, Australia and Overseas Vietnamese.
In addition, programmes to study market opportunities in India and the Middle East will also be established.
Recently, the administration kicked off a slogan and symbol contest for the Vietnamese tourism sector.
The first prize is worth 50 million VND (2,500 USD) and the deadline is December 15. Domestic and foreign companies, organisations and individuals are able to participate.