TTLV: Solutions to attract Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

1. Student's full name:Somchith VILAYCHITH

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: April 4, 1988

4. Place of birth: Louangprabang Province, Laos

5. Decision on student admission No. 2647/2014/QD-XHNV-SDH, dated November 14, 2014, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process:

7. Thesis title:Solutions to attract Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane

8. Major: Tourism Code:

9. Scientific supervisor:Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Duc Thanh

10. Summary of the thesis results:

In recent years, Vietnam has been an important tourist market in Southeast Asia for Laos. According to statistics from the Tourism Management and Research Board of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in 2015, the number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Laos was over 1.3 million, ranking second only after Thailand. However, Laos' development of the Vietnamese tourism market in recent years has not been commensurate with the potential and conditions of the two countries. In practice, some shortcomings still exist when Laos attracts tourists from the Vietnamese market. Through the research topic "Solutions to attract Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane," this thesis has drawn the following conclusions:

- The number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Vientiane has grown very steadily and they have high spending levels. However, with nearly 1.3 million Vietnamese tourists visiting Vientiane in 2015, the figure is still not commensurate with the potential and conditions for tourism cooperation between the two countries. This thesis has affirmed that Vietnam is one of the most promising tourist markets for Vientiane, requiring adequate investment and research.

According to the author's survey results, 84% of tourists visiting Vientiane are first-time visitors, 11% are second-time visitors, 1% are third-time visitors, and only 2% are third-time or more visitors. Although the number of survey responses is not large, this shows that Vientiane's implemented solutions to attract Vietnamese tourists have certain limitations: the quality of tourism human resources is uneven and lacks high professionalism; national-level promotion and marketing efforts targeting the Vietnamese market are inconsistent, weak, and unprofessional; the tourism industry has not received adequate investment in funding and personnel; there has been no market research on the preferences of Vietnamese tourists to develop a unique product line specifically for this target group; and there has been insufficient regular participation in tourism fairs and events that attract significant attention in the Vietnamese market. Tourism infrastructure is concentrated in a few central areas of Vientiane, not evenly distributed throughout the city. The seasonal operation of tourism businesses has led to overcrowding in some areas during peak seasons, impacting the environment and affecting sustainability. Vientiane's tourism products are still very limited, mainly relying on natural elements and exploiting existing resources, failing to demonstrate a competitive advantage in the market.

- The thesis identifies the opportunities and challenges, advantages and disadvantages of Vientiane tourism in light of the upcoming growth trend of Vietnamese tourists. In addition, the thesis proposes solutions and recommendations to the government and relevant agencies. These solutions are analyzed in detail and specifically, focusing on key areas: policy mechanisms, the development of tourism infrastructure, tourism promotion and marketing, and human resource development.

11. Practical applications:

12. Future research directions:

13. Published works related to the thesis:

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Somchith VILAYCHITH 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: April 4, 1987 4. Place of birth: Louangprabang province, LAO PDR.

5. Admission decision number: 2647/2014/QD-XHNV-SDH November 14, 2014 by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. Dated: November 14, 2014

6. Changes in academic process:

7. Official thesis title: “Solutions for attracting Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane”

8. Major: Tourist Code:

9. Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Tran Duc Thanh

10. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

For recent years, for Lao tourism, Vietnam is an important market in the Southeast Asia. According to directly statistical data of Tourist Research and Management Committee under the control of Ministry of Information – Culture – Tourism of Laos in 2015, the number of tourists who visited Laos is 1.3 million tourists and ranks as the second country, only after Thailand. The development of Vietnam tourism market of Laos for recent years has not been appropriate with the potentiality and conditions of the two countries. In fact, there are several short-comings when Laos attracts tourists from Vietnamese tourism market. By researching the title “Solutions for attracting Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane”, the thesis has several conclusions, as follows:

- The number of Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane has the extremely stable growth and they have high payment level, however the number of nearly 1.3 millions of Vietnamese tourists to Vientiane is not appropriate with the potentiality and tourism cooperation conditions of the two countries. The thesis has confirmed that Vietnam is one of greatly potential tourist markets for Vientiane and it should be invested and researched properly.

- According to the research findings of the author, 84% tourists travel Vientiane for the first time, 11% tourists travel for the second time, 1% tourists travel for the third time and above. Although the number of questionnaires is few, it shows that the solutions which have been applied in Vientiane to attract Vietnamese tourists have specific limitations. The quality of human resources of tourism is not equal and has not high professional; the promotion and propagation at the national level for Vietnamese market are not continuous, weak and the organizational step is not professional, its tourism has not been invested the appropriate expenses and forces; it has not researched the market and tastes of Vietnamese tourists in order to build a specific product for this object; it has not participated frequently and occasionally into travel fairs, and it has not organized events to attract lots of attentions of Vietnamese market; The tourism infrastructures only concentrate into several central areas of Vientiane but they are not distributed equally in the whole city and the seasonal operation of travel enterprises cause the overloaded concentration in several areas in peak time which has impacts on environment and sustainable capacity; Vientiane tourism products are very limited, only base mainly on natural factors, available product exploitation, and they do not express their advantages in the market, and etc.

- The thesis introduces the opportunities and challenges, advantages and disadvantages of Vientiane tourism before the development tendency of Vietnames tourists in the next time. In addition, the thesis shows the solutions, petitions to the government and concerning authorities. These solutions have analyzed in detail, specifically and concentrated into important solution groups, including: solutions on political mechanisms, solutions on tourist infrastructure system development, solutions on tourism promotion, solutions on human resources development.

11. Practical applicability:

12. Further research directions:

13. Thesis-related publications: