Hanoi (VNA) – With a growing number of Internetusers in the country, Vietnam has begun to apply information technology (IT) todevelop online tourism, which is also a current global trend.

More than 50 million Vietnamese people, or 53percent of the country’s population, are using the Internet, higher than theaverages for the Asia-Pacific region (46.64 percent) and the world (48.2percent), according to the Authority of Information Security under the Ministryof Information and Communications.

However, the Vietnam E-commerce Association saidthat strong international brand names are dominating Vietnam’s online tourismmarket with a market share of about 80 percent.

Le Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of theInternational Cooperation Department under the Vietnam National Administrationof Tourism (VNAT), said there are about 10 e-platforms for tourism in thecountry, including ivivu.com, mytour.vn, chudu24.com, gotadi.com, and tripi.vn.However, these sites only serve about 20 percent of the total online tourismdemand.

Meanwhile, a survey of foreign tourists lastyear showed that up to 71 percent of visitors had searched for informationabout Vietnamese destinations on the Internet, and 64 percent had booked andbought services for their trip online.

Tourism insiders said that in order to turntourism into a key industry, many solutions must be carried out simultaneously,including developing online tourism. They said online tourism will create thebest possible conditions for visitors to enjoy their trips, as well as boostingbusiness-to-business and business-to-customer connectivity.

VNAT General Director Nguyen Van Tuan said that ITapplication is not only an inevitable trend but can also work as a breakthroughto improve the competitiveness of the Vietnamese tourism market. The ITapplication in the sector will be geared towards the Fourth Industry Revolutionso as to further digitalise tourism management and better meet the needs of holidaymakers,local people, and travel companies, he said.

In July, VNAT officially opened a new tourismpromotion website (www.vietnam.travel) with a view to enhancing e-marketing andVietnam’s tourism promotion capacity.

Nguyen Tien Dat, deputy director of travelcompany TransViet, said his firm has launched a mobile app which can help userssearch and book tours quickly without having to arrive in person to itsoffices. This app also helps the company learn more about the demands of holidaymakersand recommend suitable tours for them.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam TourismAssociation Vu The Binh said that in order to develop online tourism, managementagencies, all-level authorities, and travel firms in particular, must worktogether.

Additionally, domestic companies often face technologicalproblems, and so they also need to cooperate better with technology enterprisesso as to remove such hindrances and boost online tourism.–VNA