Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the Q&A session of the NA Standing Committee (Photo: VNA)

Thanks to coordinated policies on tourism recovery and development, Vietnam gained significant results in tourism in the first quarter of this year, especially since March 15, when the country fully reopened post-COVID-19.

Effective cooperation

Vietnam needs breakthrough solutions to make tourism an economic driver, said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the recent Q&A session of the NA Standing Committee. Mr. Dam said the Government is urging ministries and sectors to take stronger measures to boost tourism development.

"This is an interdisciplinary industry that requires close coordination of all sectors and localities and engagement by the people. We need to improve our tourism environment. Many localities have launched movements asking each citizen to be a tourism ambassador,' said Mr. Dam.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said enhancing links is of great importance to the tourism sector’s development, competitiveness and sustainability.

"Improving roads will boost links between regions. The NA has approved investment in transportation projects to connect key regions. The Party Central Committee, the Ministry of Transport, agencies and localities have worked closely together to strengthen tourism links. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will help steer exploitation the links,' said Mr. Hung.

Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Nguyen Xuan Hung at the Q&A session of the NA Standing Committee (photo: VNA)

Minister Hung said the Ministry has created and strengthened links between the administrations and between businesses and also accelerated digital transformation with digitizing of museums being the first step.

The National History Museum, the Vietnam Fine-Arts Museum, the HCM History Museum, the Vietnam Women’s Museum, and several other museums in Vietnam have embraced digital transformation and gone digital. In the short-term, the Ministry will focus on data management and preservation of exhibits in a digital environment, and continue to update the technology used at museums and relic sites.

Focus on high-quality human resources

Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said Vietnam has adopted policies to restore the labor force in tourism and services.

Mr. Dung said: "It’s important to provide training to improve the knowledge, skills, self-reliance, and resilience of tourism workers and implement a national and regional vocational skills standards system like the ASEAN Vocational Skills Standard. We also need policies to attract better human resources, strengthen vocational training, and increase links between central and local agencies, sectors, businesses, and schools."

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has mobilized social resources and boosted international cooperation in human resources, vocational training, and setting vocational standards at the national and global levels. The Minister urged the NA and the government to expand support policies for workers in the tourism sector to help them recover from the pandemic.