That was the sharing of a representative of a Thai travel company at the Thai tourist market promotion conference held on October 2 in Thanh Hoa.
Speaking at the opening of the conference, Mr. Pham Nguyen Hong - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa, commented that although the province is among the leading localities in the country in terms of number of visitors, the proportion of international visitors to Thanh Hoa still accounts for only 4.2 - 4.7%.
Of which, in 2024, Vietnam welcomed more than 418,000 Thai visitors, but Thanh Hoa only welcomed nearly 3,000 visitors, showing a lot of room.
Therefore, the famtrip Thanh Hoa trip of the representative group of Thai and Lao travel companies from September 28 to October 3 is expected to open up new connection opportunities.
During this journey, more than 40 Thai businesses and media outlets surveyed many outstanding destinations such as Hanoi Palace, Lam Kinh, Cam Luong Fisheries, Pu Luong, Hai Tien Sea, Sam Son, Ma River yacht... and visited Thanh Hoa Museum.
Sharing at the conference on October 2, many members of the Thai business delegation expressed their good impression of the land, people and culture of Thanh Hoa.
Representatives of Thai travel companies also sincerely suggested that to increase attraction, Thanh Hoa needs to develop more beautiful and classy coffee spaces, because Thai tourists especially love pure coffee from Vietnam. If enjoyed in attractive scenery at tourist destinations, this experience will leave a deeper impression.
In addition, many opinions say that Thanh Hoa should diversify its products, focus on health care services, massage using traditional herbs, and at the same time exploit the advantages of natural fragrances to produce products for tourism.
A representative of a travel company in Northern Thailand also said that Thanh Hoa has many famous historical and cultural relics, but the nameplate and directional board system is mainly in Vietnamese, and English should be added to facilitate international visitors.
Another representative from Southern Thailand - currently a cultural advisor to a number of universities - suggested that Thanh Hoa should send official invitations to schools and agencies in Thailand to organize groups to visit, exchange and study.
According to the representative of Thai businesses, this both promotes cultural and educational cooperation and is an effective way to attract more Thai visitors to Thanh Hoa, because in Thailand, the procedure for going abroad often requires a clear invitation.
At the conference, a signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding was held between Thanh Hoa tourism businesses and Thai travel companies, aiming to build high-end heritage - resort tour linkages, develop green tourism and organize joint promotional programs in Thailand.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. Dau Thanh Tung - Vice Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee emphasized: "Tourism is an important bridge to enhance people-to-people exchanges and promote economic - cultural - social cooperation. With many complementary similarities and differences, Thanh Hoa and Thailand can create new attraction in tourism products.
He suggested that the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism coordinate with the Tourism Associations and businesses of both sides to complete infrastructure, improve service quality, develop new products and promote multi-channel.
The conference opens up many positive signals, affirming the determination to make Thanh Hoa a strategic destination for Thai and regional tourists.
Thanh Hoa is a large province in the North Central region with an area of over 11,000 km2, a population of nearly 4 million people, possessing a synchronous infrastructure from road, railway, Tho Xuan airport, Nghi Son seaport to the international border gate to Laos. The diverse landscape and treasure trove of more than 300 national and international cultural and heritage festivals create a special attraction.
The province currently has 77 tourism projects with a total capital of more than VND155,000 billion, 1,300 accommodation facilities with nearly 48,600 rooms, nearly 1,000 restaurants and 85 travel businesses (18 international).
