The application of technology in tourism development has been deployed in a prompt fashion by many businesses in Viet Nam, and those in Da Nang are no exception with the objective of bringing tourism products to a large number of customers near and far. Grasping this trend, tourism businesses and travel agencies in Da Nang are speeding up the application of the digital technology to make it easier for customers to access the best products.

Danangfantasticity app’s interface highlights the features of Da Nang tourism. Photo: NHAT HA

The application of advanced digital technologies will enable businesses to better understand customers, and personalise their service and incentive packages based on customers’ preferences, while reducing costs, optimising profits, and making their work processes more scientific, rapid and efficient.

From customers’ perspective, through smart phones using digital applications, they will be able to perform a wide ranges of activities from planning trips, selecting means of travel and travel agents to booking hotels and the receipt of post-trip preferences, instead of directly contacting tourism companies.

Mr. Cao Tri Dung, the Chairman of the Da Nang Tourism Association said that online travel (or E-Tourism) is an inevitable trend, acting as a challenge but also a great opportunity for travel businesses. When Da Nang develops itself into an attractive destination, large online travel companies such as Agoda, Booking and Tripadvisor will pour even more resources into the promotion of this destination, in tandem with tapping key services such as booking air tickets and hotel rooms, thus creating online shopping habits.

Da Nang-based tourism businesses are, therefore, forced to quickly adapt themselves to this fact with a focus on enhancing technology applications, creating new business models and promoting online sales of their tourism products in a bid to increase their competitiveness. To do this, it is high time for businesses to ensure long-term investment strategies in terms of financial resources and high-quality human resources. However, this is not the strong point owned by Da Nang travel businesses, which led to a must for them to find opportunities to partner with online travel booking platforms.

Mr. Dung also pointed out that many large hotels are now applying technologies to increase the efficiency of operations and business management processes. Many have used their own software to create a linkage amongst its departments such as reception, booking and marketing for easy management.

However, a major problem that hotels are facing is their heavy reliance on online travel agents. In reality, the commission fee of 15 - 20% on each booking has taken away a lot of profit from hotels. Therefore, in order to avoid depending on the so-called ‘metasearch engines’, many hotels have built their own websites that integrate online booking systems in parallel with offering attractive programmes for their loyal customers, and enhance their in-hotel experience services.

Sharing the same point of view, Mr. Nguyen Duc Quynh, General Director of Furama Danang Resort, Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Hotel Association, said that e-commerce and digital transformation have opened up new trends. In tourism, many businesses have made a shift from traditional to online marketing.

Mr. Quynh said that there are 6 factors needed for successful digital transformation, namely the digital transformation willingness of enterprises, corporate goals, digital transformation strategy and roadmap, management model and an independent digital conversion apparatus and the enhancement of innovative creativity.

At the same time, businesses must have a specific roadmap, which requires a combination of 3 human factors: personnel, organisation (corporate culture, ideology and leadership capacity and systems (including information technology).

Under the Da Nang government-approved specific roadmap for driving the city’s tourism growth during the 2021-2025 period, focus will be on scaling up the scientific and technological application to promote smart tourism, which is one of the key tasks associated with tourism restructuring.

Notably, the city will concentrate on building tourism promotion campaigns, especially night-time tourism, through social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Zalo, boosting Online Marketing and E-Newsletter strategies, and continuously upgrading the features of mobile apps in line with real trends and needs of travellers.

Also, ‘virtual reality’ tourism services with the application of 3D / 4D technologies will be promoted to enhance tourist experiences in tourism promotion activities as well as at tourist attractions.

More service establishments should be engaged in using e-payment forms to minimise cash payments and developing OTA (Online Travel Agent) platforms and new business models on the basis of IT applications. Multi-lingual audio guide systems should be developed in more tourist attractions across the city in the time to come.

Reporting by NHAT HA – Translating by A.T