Speculation on rooms in Con Dao and its impact on economic tourism

This is the opinion expressed by Mr. Ngo Tuan Tu, Director of Amadive Tourism Services Company Limited, at the dialogue conference between tourism businesses and the Ho Chi Minh City government, held on the afternoon of July 18.

The conference was organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism to address difficulties and problems of businesses in the area.

Fake fanpage has blue tick

According to Mr. Ngo Tuan Tu, a business operating in Con Dao, he has noticed that there is speculation on airline tickets and hotel rooms at this destination. As a result, tourists have to buy at very high prices or on holidays, the number of visitors is not as high as expected.

"Con Dao is lacking in tourism product diversity. Activities mainly focus on spiritual tourism, while other entertainment activities are lacking, especially night-time products and night-time economy . There are also many cases of impersonating fanpages of hotels and resorts, especially fake fanpages with blue ticks" - Mr. Tu wondered.

Doanh nghiệp khổ sở vì nạn đầu cơ, đẩy giá phòng ở Côn Đảo- Ảnh 1. — Mr. Ngo Tuan Tu spoke at the dialogue conference.

The headache of impersonating travel companies, hotels, and resorts was also mentioned by some other businesses. Ms. Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel Tourism Company, suggested that there should be stronger sanctions to handle the situation of impersonating travel companies to commit fraud. Because there are many scammers calling guests to attend events, seminars, giving away resort vouchers... impersonating travel companies but the sanctions are still light.

Responding to complaints from businesses, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that the occupancy rate of hotels and resorts in Con Dao recently was only about 35-40%. Therefore, speculation on hotel rooms and airfares can occur on online platforms.

"To solve the above situation, in the coming time, the Department of Tourism will deploy solutions with units, strengthen management, require information transparency by building a database and a specialized tourism management page; count the actual number of rooms, capacity and publicize prices for each segment, manage price declaration for units.

At the same time, propagate to accommodation establishments about posting room prices, as well as inspect and strictly handle violations.

Doanh nghiệp khổ sở vì nạn đầu cơ, đẩy giá phòng ở Côn Đảo- Ảnh 3. — Many businesses attended the conference this afternoon, July 18.

Solutions for tourism development in Con Dao and Can Gio

At the conference, about 40 opinions from representatives of tourism businesses were raised. Many opinions focused on proposals to reduce taxes, support the organization of tourism promotion programs such as famtrip, presstrip; adjust land use planning to serve coastal tourism projects; build rest stops on the highway to enhance connectivity and destination attraction...

Enterprises requested information support and guidance on legal procedures related to updating licenses, specialized reports, ranking accommodation establishments and administrative procedures after the merger of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau into Ho Chi Minh City; developing tourism in potential areas such as Con Dao and Can Gio; proposing to loosen regulations on inland waterway infrastructure, diversify products and improve service quality.

Ms. Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, affirmed that for Ho Chi Minh City, tourism is not simply a service industry, but also an important tool to position the brand, promote identity, and enhance global competitiveness. In the new situation, tourism development cannot be done alone, but requires a strategy of synergy - cooperation between the government and businesses.

"The Department of Tourism is committed to continuing to strongly innovate in state management such as reforming administrative procedures, reducing costs, time and resources for businesses; implementing comprehensive digital transformation in promotion, statistics, and destination management; orienting product development associated with regional advantages..." - Ms. Ngoc Hieu said.