VR technology brings tourists a panoramic view of Hue Royal Citadel. (Photo: vntrip360.com)Hanoi (VNA) – A conference held on March 28 in the framework of the VietnamInternational Travel Mart (VITM) sought solutions to develop tourism in thecontext of Industry 4.0.
Through the newly launched VNGuide app and the website VnTrip360.com,tourists can enjoy virtual trips to beauty spots in Vietnam such as Quan SuPagoda, Tran Quoc Pagoda (Hanoi) and the Cu Chi Tunnels (Ho Chi Minh City).
And, more destinations in the country are going to be digitalised to providedifferent experiences for travellers and help introduce Vietnamese tourism tothe world.
Jason Lusk, director of the Mekong Innovative Startups in Tourism (MIST),consultant to the Asian Development Bank, said it was a great step forward forinnovation in the Vietnamese tourism industry.
“TheFourth Industrial Revolution brings many opportunities for Vietnam’s traveltech start-ups as well as the chance for Vietnamese tourism to boom,” he said.
Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration(VNAT), said Industry 4.0 impacted all fields, including tourism.
“It’s a time for us to review the process of using technology in the tourismindustry,” he said.
Besidedigitalising destinations with VR technology, travel enterprises are also usingapps to manage hotels, resorts and customer experiences.
Nguyen Chi Thanh, director of Toan Dung Media Company, the developer of VNGuideapp, said it was time to make the term “smart tourism” popular.
“With 3D scanning technology, we can give tourists an overview of thedestinations before they arrive, they can zoom in and out of the sites, anddiscover every corner,” he said.
“We have some difficulties such as the high cost of 3D technology and a lack ofhuman resources to manage this technology.”
Thanh suggested that managers should be trained on VR technology so they caninstruct travellers how to use the devices.
On the day, VNAT also launched a contest for start-ups in tourism development.
The initiatives should focus on accommodation, restaurants and transport.
The contest will run until June to seek ideas on how to use technology todevelop tourism.
TheVITM 2019 is the largest of its kind, attracting 720 businesses and tourismpromotion agencies from 27 countries and territories worldwide as well as 47Vietnamese cities and provinces. In particular, the Democratic People’sRepublic of Korea (DPRK) and Peru joined the event for the first time.
The event isexpected to draw up to 85,000 visitors. Notably, exhibitors will sell over100,000 low-cost air fares and about 18,000 affordable package tours.
Forums themed “Greentourism”, “Vietnam’s outbound tourism: Opportunities and challenges”, and aseminar on Vietnam’s tourism amid the fourth industrial revolution are alsoscheduled to take place at the VITM 2019.
Vietnam is striving to welcome at least 18 million foreign tourists and serveover 85 million domestic holidaymakers, earning more than 700 trillion VND (30billion USD) in revenue this year.-VNA
VNA
