Vietnam's recent drop in the Tourism Development Competitiveness Index underscores traditional bottlenecks in the tourism sector and highlights the crucial role of stakeholders in addressing these challenges.
Vietnam needs to have a more ambitious strategy with breakthrough thinking to elevate tourism industry to a new impetus for economic growth.
The Central Coast and Central Highlands still lack international amusement parks, night entertainment services, art shows or casinos in order to beef up its tourism development.
Industry insiders are pushing for tourism potential in Hanoi's hinterlands to be tapped.
Vietnam ranks 28th in the world for its favourable conditions for tourism development. However, it is still stuck at number 113 for its policies and number 111 for its tourism service system.
Illegal loggers continue to cut down trees, while more forest land is being cleared for tourism development or hydropower plants.
