Tourist destinations to undergo annual reviews

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) will review tourist destinations in the country and announce results once a year, according to a Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism decision. 

Photo by Richard Mortel

In the decision issued late last month, the ministry announced a set of criteria for evaluating tourist sites to honor and encourage service providers who improve quality to lure more travelers. The decision was signed on December 28, 2016 by Minister Nguyen Ngoc Thien and went into force from that date.

According to the criteria, a tourist destination is considered a place that can serve and attract tourists. To win recognition as a tourist zone, it must make investment in the sector and welcome at least 500,000 visitors a year. Meanwhile, a tourist destination must serve at least 50,000 travelers annually.

Management organizations and investors of tourist zones and destinations must submit documents to VNAT to get recognition certificates. The management agency will look into 32 criteria for evaluating a tourist zone and 29 ones for assessing a tourist destination to award such certificates.

The criteria are about tourism resources, products, services, facilities, customers’ satisfaction and public participation in the tourism industry, to name just a few.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the criteria are to enhance State management in the tourism sector, encourage investors to get involved in this sector and raise service quality.