Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) aims todevelop programmes and projects on technological research and application inorder to improve the efficiency of tourism promotion in foreign markets, said aVNAT official.
Ha Van Sieu,deputy head of the VNAT, said the agency always supports and stands ready tocooperate with units with IT initiatives and projects that benefit the tourismsector and help raise its competitiveness.
The VNAT hascooperated with VnTrip to build a database of360 degree pictures of tourism destinations, thus helping promote Vietnamesetourism and attract more foreign tourists, the official said.
Thedatabase will be connected with the Southeast Asia and global tourism systemsto form a smart tourism management model.
Vietnamis an attractive destination for foreign tourists, Sieu said, noting that thecountry received the “Asia’s Leading Destination” award from the World TravelAwards in early September.
According to theVNAT, 2018 World Tourism Day (WTD), celebrated every September 27, places focuson innovation and digital transformation.
Through theevent, the World Travel Organisation (WTO) aims to highlights the importance ofdigital technologies in tourism, providing opportunities for innovation andpreparing the sector for the future of work.
WTD is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on tourism’s substantiveand potential contribution to sustainable development.
This year’s event will help to put the opportunities provided to tourism, bytechnological advances including big data, artificial intelligence and digitalplatforms, on the map of sustainable development. The UNWTO sees digitaladvances and innovation as part of the solution to the challenge of marryingcontinued growth with a more sustainable and responsible tourism sector.
“Harnessing innovation and digital advances provides tourism with opportunitiesto improve inclusiveness, local community empowerment and efficient resourcemanagement, amongst other objectives within the wider sustainable developmentagenda”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili in a recent pressrelease.
The WTD official celebration will be held in Budapest, Hungary, a countryenjoying steady growth of tourism backed by consistent policy support and acommitment to the digital future. Other celebrations will take place worldwide.-VNA