Wishing to provide a discussion forum on current important issues in tourism, on the morning of October 31, 2019, the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality at the National Economics University organized a seminar on tourism in Vietnam for the fourth time with the theme "Smarter Tourism".
Attending the seminar, on the side of outside guests there were Prof. David B. Beaver - Griffith University, Australia; Prof. Nguyen Van Dinh - President of Ha Tinh University, former Dean of Tourism and Hotel Department; Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung - Head of Market Research Department, Tourism Research and Development Institute. From the National Economics University, there were Assoc Prof. Dr. Bui Duc Tho - Vice President of the school; Assoc Prof.Dr. Pham Truong Hoang - Head of Tourism and Hotel Department; with representatives of departments, socio-political organizations; with the staff of teachers of Tourism and Hospitality Department; scientific researchers, travel scholars, policy makers, administrators, managers, and practitioners in the Hospitality and Tourism sector.
Speaking at the opening of the Conference, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Duc Tho affirmed: “The annual forum has created favorable conditions and opportunities for domestic, foreign scientists, lecturers and researchers to share. Experience and exchange of knowledge related to topics: tourism economic development, tourism destination management, tourism policy, tourism technology, tourism policy, smart consumption, Responsible tourism and tourism consumer behavior trends ”.
Prof. David B.eaver - Griffith University, Australia, a world-leading scholar specializing in tourism, with the presentation "Transition from Smart Travel to Smarter Travel" and said: Vietnam tourism is at an early stage, so there is an opportunity to develop tourism in the direction of "smarter" through learning experiences in places where tourism has developed hot, avoiding repeating mistakes of other countries. Vietnam has a large population, a large number of smartphone owners, so the development of smart tourism does not stop with the application of information technology to support visitors, but also to enhance the recognition awareness of local people and stakeholders for tourism to be more sustainable. For example, today the world has applied many smartphone applications to let visitors know their behaviors such as eating, traveling, using accommodation services, travel services ... then how they have leave "carbon footprints" and "ecological footprints"; or the application will guide visitors how to increase the health experience, the environment instead of "unsustainable" activities.
Agreeing with this view, Assoc Prof. Dr. Pham Truong Hoang, Head of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality at the National Economics University, said: Smart travel does not just mean using more smartphones, downloading more applications or applying more technology, but also must approach from a tourism development perspective in a smart, wise and sustainable direction, with the participation of all stakeholders. In addition, when travelers' behavior and needs change in a "smart" way, destinations need to be "smarter".
The workshop focused on the main issues: Responsible tourism has a close relationship with corporate social responsibility and corporate ethical behavior. The issue of ethical / responsible behavior of businesses is extensively studied in all areas from business, health care, accounting and auditing, sports and arts. Overview of studies evaluating factors affecting responsible behavior, thereby serving as a basis for proposing a model of factors affecting responsible tourism behavior of businesses. Sustainable tourism in the context of smart destination management: digital application to assess the quality of social and environmental products, People aware of tourism code of conduct in Vietnam, Transition number in Tourism Marketing in Viet Nam.
With the Industrial Revolution 4.0, the tourism industry will have many opportunities to grow fast and strong, but the challenges that come with it are not small. By now, Vietnam tourism market is also changing due to the development of technology with the rapid growth of online tourism.