How to make Vietnam's tourism work

I particularly like how they organize and operate a tourism spot.

I visited a lake in Bath, and on reaching the ticket counter I showed an employee a digital ticket I had bought months earlier. In return, I got a small audio machine with earphones and a usage guide.

The small screen on the machine had a long row of numbers corresponding to different audio guides and different spots.

On reaching a spot, tourists can press the corresponding number, and the machine would play the audio guide related to the tour spots. It was available in 20 languages. There was no need for a human tour guide.

Another time, when I was visiting Japan, I was coerced by a friend to visit an animal museum, which was frankly not my cup of tea. I generally did not enjoy museums, which I considered to be old, boring and inanimate.

But that time the impression was starkly different. At the entrance, a museum employee gave me a rock-like object. He explained that as I entered the "forest," when I saw animals, I could press a button on the "rock" to "capture" the animals. It would then show me details of the habitats and behaviors of the animals.

Fascinated with this new game, I entered the first room, which was filled with gigantic screens showing images of the sun rising and falling on the two hemispheres, followed by descriptions of Earth with both images and sounds.

We went further, and saw 3D and 4D technologies used to show images of tropical forests, oceans and mountains ranging from Africa to Asia, harmonized to create a journey across the globe. There were life-sized animals and sounds to bring nature inside a room.

The most interesting feature was the interactive aspect. If a guest suddenly got too close to an animal, it would flee. To "capture" the animals, visitors have to approach gingerly.

I was mesmerized by the interactive, multi-dimensional world that museum created, and spent a few hours inside without realizing it.

I went to the outer room, thinking that the tour was over. An employee approached me, telling me to put the device underneath a screen which was showing the globe. When I did so, the screen showed all the animals I had "captured" running back to their respective habitats around the earth. The message was that animals should not be captured and detained from their habitat, and it was a very entertaining, educating, and human experience.

This is a typical story of how modern tourism industries in various countries adopt technology. This industry does not create any specific technology itself but benefits from the technological advancements made in other fields.

Looking back at history the global tourism industry has gone through four development stages.

First, from 1950 to 1970, with the appearance of computers, corporates began to adopt computers to plan itineraries and budgets.

Second, from 1990 to 2000, the Internet was introduced and used by the tourism industry to advertise and attract customers. Online booking made an appearance.

Third, from 2000 to 2010, the Internet became more widely available. Aggregators proliferated, the most prominent of which were Expedia and Tripadvisor.

Finally, from 2010 to the present, with the introduction of cloud computing, wearable devices, virtual reality, GPS, and social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, technology has completely changed the approach to advertising and trade, and the availability and variety of products in the tourism industry.

The synergies between service providers like travel agencies, restaurants and hotels became stronger.

As technological revolutions occur constantly, changing the facets of life, the tourism industry also changes. The appetites of tourists change every day, requiring improvements in travel destinations, including stay quality, customer service and many more.

Operating tourism like it was 20 years ago will not make the cut in this new era.

The tourism industry in Vietnam, which contributes around 10% to GDP, has mostly remained unchanged for a long time.

They manage tasks and human resources manually, store customers data and tour plans on paper, use traditional marketing measures such as pamphlets. For customer service, they rely on phone calls, emails and snail mail. The use of technology has been, at best, limited.

The most visible changes have occurred in the two major metropolises, HCMC and Hanoi, with the introduction of travel applications on both Android and iOS systems, 3D technology in advertising and information sharing, government-hosted customer feedback systems, public security at tourism hotspots, update of travel resources on Google Earth and Google Maps, and introduction of travel products on e-commerce sites like Shopee and Traveloka.

Hoa Lo Prison Relic, an important historical tourist site in Hanoi, recently began using digital audio guides to replace humans.

However, after participating in several research projects on digitalization and adoption of technology, I realized there are considerable obstacles to digitalization of the tourism industry.

Corporates face difficulties in terms of resources, both capital and human, as digitalization requires major up-front costs and high-quality employees.

Local tourism businesses remain slow in adopting technology and are overwhelmed by their foreign-owned competitors.

For the local tourism industry to fully digitalize, Vietnam needs efforts by both the public and private sectors.

I watched a travel video sent by a friend in China. Upon arriving at the airport, the driverless taxi they had booked came to pick them up. They entered the number displayed on the screen when booking the car to open the door. The taxi fare was deducted through the app. When they arrived at the hotel, the door opened automatically. They didn't need to go through the reception; they just entered a code to open their room door. Within five minutes of entering the room, a hotel staff member brought water and fruit. The room had a tablet ready, and for any service needed, they just had to use that tablet. Lights, curtains and other electronic devices were controlled by voice commands. The convenience must be overwhelming.

Vietnam still lags far behind in using technology in the tourism industry. To catch up, there needs to be a swift, long-term strategy by the government to apply technological advancements such as chatbots, IoT connectivity, virtual assistants, and 3D imaging technology.

These should be used to revamp all tourist destinations as well as the way businesses operate and promote their products.

Only then can Vietnam’s tourism hope to become less monotonous.

*Ngo Tu Ngan is a lawyer based in Ho Chi Minh City.