Overview of the workshop (Photo:TITC)

Attending the Workshop were Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of Vietnam National Authority of Tourism; Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism; leaders of tourism management departments; representatives of travel businesses, hotels, information technology and communications businesses, press agencies…

The workshop is an opportunity for management agencies, businesses, and experts in the field of tourism to meet, exchange, and share information and perspectives related to changing trends in the field of inbound tourism in 2024, ways to change the tourism business model from B2B to B2C.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism speaking at the workshop (Photo: TITC)

Giving her opening remarks, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the  Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said, the 4.0 industrial revolution is receiving great attention from the Party, State and social community. Digital transformation is one of the strategic solutions to realise the aspiration of rapid and sustainable economic development. Tourism is a comprehensive economic sector, inter-regional, interdisciplinary, deeply socialised and internationally integrated, so there is a need to update world trends to take advantage of opportunities, limiting risks and challenges is urgent, requiring state management agencies and tourism businesses to find effective and feasible solutions to shorten the time to reach target customers, tools that bring advantages and join hands to coordinate and closely link to attract, meet the experience needs of tourists, increase the competitiveness of the destination, improve business efficiency of enterprises and the role of state management agencies in tourism.

The workshop focuses on 4 main contents: current world tourism trends - opportunities and challenges; trends in searching for travel information and skills and tools to reach target customer segments; media trends in the world; how to approach and understand customer market segments to build suitable products to optimise tourism business efficiency.

Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc - CEO of Outbox Consulting Company (Photo: TITC)

Sharing about current tourism trends in the world, Mr. Dang Manh Phuoc - CEO of Outbox Consulting Company said that the development of intra-regional tourism trends, the rise of the Asian tourist market and the explosion of independent travel. Thence, innovation requirements are placed on tourism businesses to adapt, understand tourists, increase investment in branding and direct marketing communication activities to target customers, and promote local advantages.

Ms. Ha Lam Tu Quynh - Communications Director of Google Asia-Pacific Communications Vietnam (Photo: TITC)

Ms. Ha Lam Tu Quynh - Communications Director of Google Asia-Pacific Communications Vietnam presented Google's research on world tourism search trends and Google tools that can help tourism businesses customer access. According to Ms. Ha Lam Tu Quynh, the explosion in travel demand of the Gen Z generation and AI technology have had a strong impact on changing the world's travel trends. On this occasion, Ms. Ha Lam Tu Quynh introduced Google's Gemini application in the conference.

Mr. Nguyen Chau A - Director of Oxalis Adventure Company (Photo: TITC)

Mr. Nguyen Chau A - Director of Oxalis Adventure Company introduced how to build tourism products for categories of customers in B2C (destination awareness, product creation, keyword creation); necessary requirements for a business oriented towards the B2C business model (building suitable products, building a good brand, building platforms for tourism business, building a methodical marketing strategy …).

The workshop also received a presentation from Pencil Group representatives introducing inbound marketing solutions for development B2C through digital marketing tools applying AI. XO Tours representative introduced the unique motorbike tour development model and how to deploy B2C marketing activities to customers.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong speaking at the workshop (Photo: TITC)

Speaking at the workshop, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong commented that the workshop raised very good, new, scientific and practical issues. Changing tourism trends means tourism businesses must also change, which is an inevitable requirement, in which technology and digital transformation factors play important role. The workshop opened up many new issues to research, summarise, identify and implement in practice. Business model transformation is also an opportunity for innovation and creativity, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Gradually converting the business model from B2B to B2C is necessary, starting from a shift in awareness to action.

According to MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong, Ho Chi Minh City is the economic engine of the country, increasingly attracting international visitors to visit and travel. The city is both a destination and a tourist distribution point for localities across the country, so the role of travel businesses following the B2C model is very important through the construction of many unique products that attract tourists.

Overview of the workshop (Photo:TITC)

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong added, it is necessary to organise more of these meaningful conferences to create profound changes in the tourism industry. Businesses need to proactively make specific recommendations to competent authorities to promulgate policies to encourage, support, and link to facilitate the process of transforming businesses' business models.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong believes that the goal of welcoming 18 million international visitor arrivals by 2024 is completely achievable when tourism businesses transform positively, innovate better products and services, have a more effective approach to customers, and attract more international visitors to Vietnam.

MOCST’s and Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism’s leaders giving flowers to presenters (Photo: TITC)

Leaders and delegates taking souvenir photo (Photo: TITC)

Tourism Information Technology Center