Need a national strategy for wedding tourism
Mr. Pham Hai Quynh - Director of the Asian Tourism Development Institute (ATI), said that Vietnam is facing a great opportunity but also at a decisive time.
Vietnam is currently a "newly emerging" destination. We are starting to be noticed by billionaires and international tourists. Compared to Thailand or Indonesia - which have shaped the brand for many years - Vietnam is in the position of a "rough gem" full of potential. We are transforming from a simple sightseeing destination to a destination for iconic events," Mr. Quynh said.
According to experts, if you want to go further, wedding tourism needs to be identified as a thematic product in the group of high-end tourism, resort, MICE and cultural tourism, instead of developing according to individual events. This is also a direction suitable for the Vietnam Tourism Development Strategy to 2030 and the Tourism System Plan for the period 2021 - 2030, vision to 2045.
From a business perspective, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Duy - Business Director of Paradise Vietnam believes that there needs to be stronger involvement from policies.
From the local side, there needs to be a macro policy to position wedding tourism as a key product. At the same time, it is necessary to relax and be more flexible in licensing event organizations at destinations in the bay, accompanied by clear environmental protection standards; optimize visa application procedures for MICE tourist groups and large-scale wedding tourism," Mr. Duy proposed.
In parallel with the general strategy, each locality also needs to build its own identity for its products. Da Nang has advantages in sea resorts, MICE and the Indian tourist market; Phu Quoc aims for the "wedding island" model; Quang Ninh develops weddings associated with heritage and resorts; while Hanoi can exploit cultural depth with ancient towns, ao dai, craft villages and heritage spaces.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tran Quang - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Tourism, many Southeast Asian countries have considered wedding tourism as a development strategy, taking advantage of landscape, culture and competitive organization costs. In the context that the global wedding market still has a lot of room for growth, Vietnam has the opportunity to strongly develop this segment if it knows how to invest methodically.
Mr. Quang emphasized that the formation of large-scale specialized events will contribute to connecting businesses, promoting innovation, improving service quality and gradually building Hanoi into a regional-scale wedding and festival event center.
Building a professional ecosystem, creating an impression with Vietnamese identity
According to experts, the strategy can only be effective when accompanied by a synchronous service ecosystem.
Mr. Pham Hai Quynh said that the current bottlenecks lie in visa procedures, the human resources for organizing international events are still thin, and the linkage between accommodation and event organizers and local service providers is still fragmented.
We need to build a "one-stop shop" process for wedding tourism in key localities; promote in-depth human resource training in international event organization and develop package products, integrating local cultural experiences into wedding services," Mr. Quynh said.
Agreeing with this view, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Duy emphasized: "Businesses need to upgrade service standards to international standards. It is necessary to build package ecosystems so that foreign customers only need to work through a one-stop shop, and can fully take care of everything from transportation, accommodation to events.
Besides service quality, many opinions believe that Vietnam's long-term competitive advantage lies in cultural identity, not the luxury of a wedding ceremony.
Mr. Pham Hai Quynh commented: "Instead of just competing with "blue sea, white sand" - something that Bali or Maldives are already too famous for - Vietnam needs to emphasize indigenous culture. Our identity lies in weddings combining traditional Vietnamese rituals, ao dai, tea ceremony, and unique wedding customs in the context of international standard resort infrastructure".
According to experts, the diversity of destinations is also a rare advantage of Vietnam, from cultural heritage such as Hoi An, Hue ancient capital to mountainous areas such as Sa Pa or high-class resorts in Phu Quoc, Da Nang... Along with that, Vietnamese cuisine can completely become a " messenger" to help create a unique mark for each wedding.
According to the orientation in Decision No. 1189/QD-TTg, the application of digital technology, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and digitalization of cultural and tourism data will contribute to improving the tourist experience. Many experts also proposed building a "Vietnam Wedding Tourism" website with many languages, integrating information about destinations, providers, service packages and related regulations to facilitate international visitors.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Duy proposed: "The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and large businesses need to coordinate to organize direct promotion campaigns at international wedding tourism fairs in India, Europe, Australia; and invite leading wedding planners in the world to Ha Long to experience reality through famtrip programs so that they can confidently introduce Vietnam to customers".
From the first international weddings to the goal of building a new tourism brand, Vietnam still has a lot to do. When policies, businesses and cultural identity are connected, each wedding will not only bring revenue but also contribute to promoting Vietnam's image to the world.
