On December 5^th and 6^th, 2019, the international conference on Vietnamese tourism in the 21st Century officially took place at the British University Vietnam (BUV) campus with the participation of nearly 100 delegates and speakers alongside approximately 120 students from not only Vietnam but other countries as well including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Australia, Iran, Indonesia and Thailand.

Opening on December 5^th, 2019 at BUV, the event opened an inclusive forum for researchers, experts and students to have the opportunity to discuss the most significant and relevant topics in the tourism industry and express their ideas for the right direction to develop tourism in Vietnam. Attending the seminar were Dr. Ha Van Sieu – Vice Chairman of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism and several managers, researchers and business representatives such as Mr. Miquel Àngel – Member of Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board, Mr. Kenneth M. Atkinson – Founder & Senior Board Adviser, Grant Thornton, Ms. Carol Southall – Course Leader and Senior Lecturer of Staffordshire University (United Kingdom), Mr. Andrew Nisbet – Cluster General Manager, Hilton Hanoi Opera and Ms. Hanh Ngo – Human Resource Director, InterContinental Hanoi Landmark 72.

Photo of delegates who attend the seminar

Dr. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, thanked BUV for inviting international experts in the field of tourism to Vietnam to discuss and contribute to the development of the country’s tourism. He shared that Vietnamese tourism has been on the rise in recent years and is orientated to be developed as a key economic sector in the future, even with the many challenges. Therefore, he hopes that through this seminar with experts from around the world, the managers, researchers and students in the tourism industry can listen, actively exchange and contribute valuable ideas to develop Vietnam’s tourism industry in the 21st century.

Dr. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism delivers his opening speech

More than 20 local and international speakers brought a lot of interesting topics in the tourism field, including the presentation on “Tourism, Sustainability and Development ​in Southeast Asia​” presented by Dr. Huong Bui – Lecturer from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, “Vietnam Tourism: Opportunities & Challenges” presented by Mr. Kenneth M. Atkinson, Founder & Senior Board Adviser, Grant Thornton, the strong point of view on cultural preservation for tourism development in the globalization context and the presentation on “Skills for careers in Tourism & Hospitality” by Ms. Carol Southall – Course Leader and Senior Lecturer of Staffordshire University (United Kingdom),…

Ms. Carol Southall, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer of Staffordshire University (United Kingdom) shared about “Skills for careers in Tourism & Hospitality”

The experts shared a positive view on the future development of Vietnam’s tourism despite the potential challenges and also questioned the Vietnamese government regarding the right investment in the facility, infrastructure, human resources, media and positioning strategy in the international market. Many experts emphasize that “high-quality human resources” is a key element for development so that Vietnam can improve its competitiveness in the region, as well as in the world.

The seminar witnessed the enthusiastic discussion from the final year students of “Tourism Management” and “Event Management” from Staffordshire University and Vietnamese students who are interested in the tourism industry.

Ly Minh Anh, students of BUV shared about “Sustainable Tourism in Vietnam”

During two days of the conference, the students of “Tourism Management” at BUV also confidently presented their opinions. Ly Minh Anh, one of the students enrolled on the “Tourism management” programme at BUV made strong arguments about “Sustainable Tourism in Vietnam”. According to Minh Anh, the biggest challenge for sustainable tourism development in Vietnam is that we do not have uniform, transparent and in-depth regulations and policies on this issue. Climate change and environmental pollution are also objective factors that greatly affect this type of development in Vietnam. In order for Vietnam to become an eco-friendly tourist destination, Minh Anh proposed many suggestions, especially on changing perspectives of the community, focusing on the younger generation – the future generation who will contribute importantly to the Vietnamese tourism industry.

Prof. Dr. Raymondmond Gordon, Vice Chancellor of British University Vietnam, hopes that, through this International Conference, BUV has assisted the government in attracting international knowledge, technology and talent for the development of Vietnam’s tourism industry.