Hanoi (VNS/VNA) -Developing human resources in tourism is key to help boost this industrysustainability, according to experts.

The tourism sector of Vietnam has seen impressive progress. Last year, thecountry welcomed 18 million international tourists, a year-on-year increase of16 per cent and served 85 million domestic visitors.

Total revenue reached more than 720 trillion VND (31.1 billion USD) last year,up 16 percent in comparison with 2018.

The average growth rate of visitors in three consecutive years (2016-2019) sawa 22 percent average increase each year.

The country is ranked as one of the ten fastest growing tourist destinations inthe world.

However, experts have warned the sector still faces many challenges,particularly the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic in the first months of 2020.

Apart from measures to prevent and control the disease and graduallyrestructure the tourism market, the development of qualified human resources isneeded to help the sector recover after the epidemic and develop in the future.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the sector needsaround 40,000 labourers each year. However, the number of students graduatingfrom schools in the field of tourism was only 15,000 with a little over 12 percentfrom universities and colleges or higher education.

Director of HCM City’s Department of Tourism Bui Ta Hoang Vu said human resourcesserving the tourism sector failed to meet demand.

The city requires an increase of 12-15 percent in the number labourers eachyear, but supply cannot keep up with real demand.

The city has more than 60 establishments providing tourism training at threelevels – universities, colleges and vocational schools. However, they couldonly meet 60 percent of recruitment demand.

Other localities like Binh Duong, Can Tho, Kien Giang and Ca Mau face the sameproblem.

While the lack of human resources remains a headache for the tourism sector,quality also fails to meet requirements.

Many businesses have to spend time and money to retrain new workers to matchjob requirements.

Nguyen Quoc Ky, Director General of Vietravel – one among leading travelcompanies in Vietnam, said most travel agencies had to retrain newly-recruitedworkers for up to a year. “This is a huge waste,” he said.

Chairman of the HCM City Tourism Association Tran Hung Viet said developmentdemand of many localities kept increasing but the human resources qualityremained limited.

The lack of and weakness in professional skills of human resources are amongkey problems. Foreign language competency of the labourers also needsimprovement, he said.
In order to improve the quality of the tourismhuman resources, many training establishments have moved towards provision oftraining in close connection with demands and with more focus on practice.

Principal of Hoa Sen University Mai Hong Quy said connecting universities withbusinesses is the common trend globally.

Students would have the chance to gain experience at hotels, travel agenciesand restaurants to improve their professional skills.

Apart from reforming and improving training quality at training schools,tourism businesses also regularly organised courses to help their employeeskeep up with new trends and increasing demand.

A representative from Saigontourist Company in HCM City said more than 1,000tour guides of the company often had their knowledge and skills updated and improvedvia annual training courses. Regular training helped the company developbusiness strategies effectively.

Deputy Director of the HCM City’s Tourism Department Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa saidthe department had paid more attention to improving professional skills andforeign language competence for workers.

In 2019, the department coordinated with the city’s Tourism Association toorganise competitions for tourism labourers, creating conditions for them toupdate, learn and exchange skills and knowledge.

It plans to organise management training courses in the 4.0 Industry with fundsmobilised from the society, according to Hoa.

Courses on eco-tourism, community-based tourism and tourism promotion wouldalso be held, she said.

Head of the Training Department under the HCM City Tourism Association Huynh QuocThang said the tourism sector had integrated stronger in the internationalcommunity. Vietnam had become a member of the World Tourism Organisation, theAsia-Pacific Tourism Association and the Southeast Asian Tourism Association.

"Improvement in human resources quality plays an important role to affirmthe country’s position in the regional and global markets," he said.
The tourism sector strives to receivearound 20.5 million international visitors and serve 90 domestic tourists in2020, which is expected to earn more than 830 trillion VND./.