Ba Ria – Vung Tau attracted more than 6.4 million visitors in the first half of this year, a 10.75 per cent rise over the same period last year. The figure includes more than 248,000 foreign tourists.— Photo tcdulichtphcm

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Ba Ria- Vung Tau Province should improve and promote its tourism attractions to attract more people from Japan, a Japanese diplomat based in HCM City told a seminar held in Vung Tau City last week.

Sato Kakuro, deputy consul general, said the province had an abundance of tourism resources and things in common with Japan such as its coastal location and variety of seafood.

But the number of Japanese tourists who know about and visit the coastal southern province remains limited, he said, adding it needs to promote itself to Japanese.

Other speakers at the seminar said the potential of the Japanese tourist market is huge because of the country's high living standard and its people's interest in travelling.

But Japanese are demanding in terms of safety, hygiene, and comfort, they said.

Attendees spoke about the characteristics of Japanese to apprise local authorities about what to expect when serving them.

For instance, they want to discover local cultures, travel in groups, like buying souvenirs and gifts, and do not care too much about the price of a product or service if they believe it is of good quality, they said.

Many Japanese tourists do not want to come back to Viet Nam because of the poor service, especially with relation to hygiene at many tourist spots, they said.

They also pointed out the prevalent problem of overcharging foreigners everywhere.

The seminar, is expected to help the province's tourism businesses learn more about Japanese tourists.

Speakers called on the province to diversify its tourism products and services and develop high-quality human resources with knowledge of Japanese since many Japanese do not know English.

It should also develop products and services that particularly suit Japanese.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau attracted more than 6.4 million visitors in the first half of this year, a 10.75 per cent rise over the same period last year.

The figure includes more than 248,000 foreign tourists.

Tourism revenues topped VND1.48 trillion (US$70.2 million) in the first half, a 17.9 per cent rise compared to the same period last year. — VNS