Ministry approves new tourism marketing campaign
By Dao Loan - The Saigon Times Daily
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| International visitors arrive at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport. The tourism sector will launch a campaign to encourage travel to Vietnam - Photo: Dao Loan |
HCMC – The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has approved a national marketing campaign alled “Vietnam – Your Destination” to attract both local and foreign travelers in 2010, a tourism official said.
Vu The Binh, head of the travel department under the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), told the Daily on Wednesday that the campaign would be officially launched this Friday in Hanoi. 
The campaign will include the Impressive Vietnam Grand Sale 2010 program, and will offer cheaper travel prices to both locals and foreigners to encourage them to travel more this year.
Throughout the campaign, VNAT will conduct marketing activities to promote Vietnam’s image overseas. They will also focus on developing Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade will also join forces with the tourism sector to help organize the program.
“This morning we spoke with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to discuss a joint campaign to give special discounts to guests in tourism centers. The program will take place in August and September,” Binh said.
VNAT will spend about VND1.7 billion to promote “Vietnam – Your Destination,” in addition to funding from other sources. The campaign’s primary objective is to attract both high spenders and visitors who plan to stay in Vietnam for a long time.
Ultimately, the program will help the tourism sector reach its annual target – about 4.2 million international tourists and 27-28 million domestic travelers this year.
According to VNAT, 887,000 foreign tourists have entered Vietnam this year to date, a 27.4% increase on the year-ago period.
Chinese visitors increased 90.8% in number, reaching 137,800 guests, while 87,000 South Korean tourists came to Vietnam, a 24.4% rise. Travelers from Japan increased just 5.8% to 71,200.