Online tourism destination marketing : Strategies for Vietnam

Abstract

The importance of online marketing of tourism destinations is undeniable. Tourism organisations are now coming up with attractive offers to position themselves in the electronic markets. The website of a tourist destination can give a competitive advantage and may help individual organisations or destinations enjoy the benefits of direct marketing. Online marketing and management systems make product innovation easier and increase productivity in the activities of tourism organisations. Online services bring numerous benefits to clients in the form of improved availability of information, greater price transparency, and the possibility of immediate booking and payment. It is necessary however to utilize it in a more meaningful way to derive the potential benefits. In response to these dynamic changes, this research aims to identify the main challenges to online tourism destination marketing of Vietnam and seek possible solutions for them. This includes a study of the current demand for travel online services in Vietnam; and, at the same time, of the online tourism destination marketing of Vietnam at national, provincial and enterprise levels. Common weaknesses and problems are identified, and specific measures proposed to improve the quality of online travel services. The research collected the data from several sources. To study the demand for online travel services in Vietnam and identify tourists{ needs and perceptions of Vietnamese travel websites, data were collected from 268 foreign tourists who had visited Vietnam in November - December 2007. Importance - Performance Analysis was carried out for Vietnamese travel website attributes, in order to analyze whether the quality of Vietnamese travel websites meets the requirements of tourists. To assess the current online marketing activities in Vietnam both questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews were conducted. Questionnaires were collected from 39 provincial tourism departments to identify the current online marketing and future plans for development at provincial level. Seventeen in-depth interviews were generated with travel businesses and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) officials to understand the various perspectives of tourism marketing activities in Vietnam, particularly online marketing and Destination Management System (DMS), as well as the viewpoint of travel businesses on online marketing in Vietnam. The findings of the study indicate that the perception of the foreign tourists of the tourism-related websites in Vietnam is generally good; however, certain deficiencies have been reported with regard to some website attributes, such as insufficient or lacking information on booking reservations, providing proper directions to the destination, price of hotels/ restaurants, online booking, etc. Other issues were related to technology and safety perception in the minds of the tourists; these result in low conversion rate of searching and purchasing travel products on Vietnamese travel websites. All the respondents from tourism-related organisations and businesses in Vietnam were highly aware of the vital role of online marketing within the organisations or businesses. The high awareness of online marketing of all respondents was shown in their planning on website and technology upgrades in the near future. Based on the results of the survey, the researcher has proposed specific strategies to improve the quality of websites as well as that of other online tourism services. Destinationrelated websites{ quality is often crucial to satisfying the customers{ demand for information, as well as their booking, purchasing and other requirements. Websites need to be promoted through all distribution channels. To gain competitive advantage, tourism-related organisations need to focus on interaction with customers, through e-mail, discussion forum, chat room, instant message and customization functions, and ensure the safety of online transactions, in order not just to attract new users but also to ensure repeat customers. The quality of online services will often influence the perceived image of a destination. The staff needs to be trained in the areas of marketing, customer service and technology. Co-operative marketing is much more cost effective and can stimulate greater travel urges by using DMS. Governmental support and direction will also be very important in a country like Vietnam for enhancing the destination marketing in general and online destination marketing in particular.