Overview of the meeting (Photo: TITC)

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet speaking at the reception (Photo: TITC)

Speaking at the reception, Mr. Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman of the JTTRI said, according to the plan discussed with the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, JTTRI and VNAT will co-organise the International Conference on Overtourism at Major Destinations and Development of Satellites Vietnam and Japan working towards Sustainable Tourism in Ha Noi and on December, a workshop will be held on the topic "Investing and developing sustainable high-quality transport infrastructure".

Mr. Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman of the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) speaking at the reception (Photo: TITC)

With the theme of sustainable tourism development, the Chairman of the JTTRI hopes that on the occasion of the Conference, the joint tourism cooperation minutes between the Vietnam Institute of Tourism Development Research (ITDR) under VNAT and the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) will be proceed. The cooperation activities between the two sides can be brought into practical use, improve service quality, protect and preserve cultural and heritage values, and at the same time provide solutions to help reduce overtourism and support tourism businesses to better serve tourists, especially post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism at the reception (Photo: TITC)

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet said, recently, Vietnam and Japan have jointly organised several activities and events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. Japan is one of the countries with the largest tourist exchange volume of Vietnam.

In the period 2015-2019, Japanese visitors to Vietnam grew steadily, reaching an average of 9.1%/year. In 2019, visitor exchange between Vietnam and Japan reached 1.5 million arrivals. Post the Covid-19 pandemic, in 2022, the exchange of visitors between the two countries reached nearly 360 thousand visitor arrivals, and it is expected that in 2023 it can reach 1 million visitor arrivals. A number of Vietnam destinations that attract Japanese tourists include: Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi, tour route of Hue - Da Nang - Hoi An, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Nha Trang, Mekong Delta with tourism products to experience culture, world heritage and beach resorts.

The content of this Conference revolves around Overtourism at Major Destinations and Development of Satellites - Vietnam and Japan working towards Sustainable Tourism, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet hopes that the two sides will actively contribute and discuss the current situation of tourism overload in some major tourist centres and propose initiatives and policy solutions to develop and ensure controlling overcrowding and sustainably developing tourist destinations, relying on the strengths of culture and heritage of the two countries.

The Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism added, VNAT will act as a focal point and continue to coordinate with JTTRI to implement cooperation activities in the field of tourism, the two sides consider continuing to organise tourism seminars in Vietnam and Japan in the following years. He also proposed JTTRI to share research reports on tourism in general and studies on trends and tastes of Japanese tourists, as well as continuing to coordinate and invite speakers to attend and share information at seminars and events organised by Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) wishes Vietnam and Japan will actively issue policies to facilitate visitor exchange activities, promote tourism connections, so that tourism on both sides can achieve the same results as before the Covid-19 pandemic. Informing about Vietnam's newly issued visa policy, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh stated, from 15th August 2023, international visitors, including Japanese, are eligible for a visa exemption policy to enter Vietnam with a temporary stay duration of up to 45 days.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of Vietnam National Authority of Tourism speaking at the reception (Photo: TITC)

Regarding tourism connection activities between the two countries, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh said, Vietnam Tourism regularly participates in the JATA Japan Fair and organises market launch programmes in many Japanese cities (Tokyo, Kanagawa, Hokkaido, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka...); welcomes delegation of tourism businesses and media companies from the Japanese market to inspect Vietnam. Organising Vietnam Day in Tokyo, the annual Vietnam Day in Kanagawa and in many other provinces such as Osaka, Hokkaido, Fukuoka, Niigata. At the same time, VNAT also coordinated with the Department of International Cooperation (under MOCST) to participate and organise workshops on tourism promotion within the framework of Festivals and Vietnam Culture and Tourism Week in Japan.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet gifting souvenir to Mr. Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman of JTTRI (Photo: TITC)

Mr. Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman of JTTRI gifting souvenir to MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet (Photo: TITC)

On the other hand, after opening a Representative Office in Ha Noi on 28th March 2017, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) regularly organises activities to promote Japanese tourism in Vietnam. Every year, Japan participates in the ITE-HCMC (International Travel Expo - Ho Chi Minh City) and Vietnam's VITM (Vietnam International Travel Mart) – Ha Noi on a large scale.

Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam Watanabe Shige indicated that Vietnam is one of the markets with enormous potential for tourism development, and in recent years has attracted many Japanese investors. The Japanese government also pays great attention to the development of outbound and inbound tourism. The number of Japanese tourists to Vietnam is also increasing. Mr. Watanabe Shige hopes that through these activities, the culture and tourism cooperation relationship between the two countries will increasingly develop and become more connected.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet gifting souvenir to Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam Watanabe Shige (Photo: TITC)

Deputy Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam Watanabe Shige gifting souvenir to MOCST’s Deputy Minister Doan Van Viet (Photo: TITC)

Tourism Information Technology Center