Vietnam, Japan see great opportunities to promote tourism

Vietnam and Japan have many opportunities for mutual tourism promotion, boosting economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, said experts at a workshop held by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) in Ho Chi Minh City on February 23.

Director of the municipal Tourism Department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said that to beef up the exchange of visitors between the sides, the city needs a long-term blueprint, encouraging the opening of direct flight routes linking the city and Japanese localities.

It is also necessary for the sides to organise more festivals and cultural exchange events and join each other’s tourism fairs, she noted.

Uchida Shusuke, Deputy Chief Representative of the JNTO office in Vietnam, said currently, flights between Vietnam and Japan have recovered 95% as compared to their pre-pandemic levels.

In 2023, JNTO will focus on building relationships and cooperation with travel companies, airlines, and media channels. The company will also promote digital marketing and Japan's image via the Vietnam - Japan Festival and events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations. This will serve to quickly restore the number of Vietnamese tourists coming to Japan to the pre-pandemic levels.

According to statistics from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, HCM City welcomed more than 600,000 Japanese visitors in 2019, accounting for over 60% of the total number of the group coming to Vietnam. In 2022, after reopening, many tourism promotion activities were held in Japan and Vietnam. With more than 100,000 Japanese visiting the city so far, Japan has always been in the top 10 international tourist markets of Ho Chi Minh City.

Before the pandemic, about 500,000 Vietnamese came to Japan annually. In 2022, Japan attracted more than 284,000 Vietnamese tourists, accounting for 7.4% of its total volume of international visitors./.

VNA