Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), spoke to Noor Ahmad Hamid, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Japan Tourism Ministers’ Special Dialogue.
During the meeting, VNAT Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu emphasized PATA’s assistance for Vietnam’s tourist business in terms of providing information and research data on global and regional tourism for Vietnam. Support capacity building for Vietnamese tourism officials; organize training courses and foster tourism skills, with a focus on sustainable destination management, digital transformation, market research, tourism statistics, and product development; and coordinate and create opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to participate in PATA activities.
VNAT Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu proposed that PATA continue to implement tourism projects in Vietnam and organize some PATA events in the near future; support Vietnam tourism by inviting prestigious international experts and speakers to attend conferences, seminars, and field trips in Vietnam; and support promoting Vietnam tourism on PATA platforms.
Furthermore, VNAT Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu advocated creating a PATA Training Center in Vietnam to invest in building human capacity in the Vietnamese tourist business in accordance with PATA standards.
Noor Ahmad Hamid appreciated the rapid recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic in comparison to a number of other countries in the region and indicated that PATA will consider opening PATA Training Centers in some provinces and cities in Vietnam in 2024 – 2025.
In recent years, Vietnam has frequently engaged in PATA Central’s promotional activities, conferences, and seminars. PATA Association frequently assists professionals in presenting at conferences, seminars, and forums hosted by Vietnam.
In 2021-2023, PATA implemented the project “Tourism Destination Resilience”, organizing 03 training workshops: Workshop in Ha Noi in December 2022 and July 2023, in Hoi An in April 2022. Currently, PATA is discussing with the VNAT about considering organizing the PATA Travel Mart 2025 in Vietnam.
