AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO ATTRACTING DOMESTIC TOURISTS TO VIETDA TRAVEL COMPANY

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FALCUTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS NGUYEN THI MINH TAM AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REAL SITUATION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO ATTRACTING DOMESTIC TOURISTS TO VIETDA TRAVEL COMPANY Code : K23.702 Course : 2017 – 2021 SUPERVISOR:PHAN THI NHU GAM DA NANG – MARCH 2021 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The graduation internship is an opportunity for me to learn and accumulate a lot of knowledge in the tourism industry and working mechanism in a travel agency For me this is really a rewarding and meaningful practice The experiences and knowledge I have learned will be the luggage to help me become more confident to achieve many successes in the key economic sector - the tourism industry First of all, I would like to express my deep thanks to all the teachers of the Faculty of English majoring in Tourism English of Duy Tan University for teaching me many theoretical lessons and many useful skills related to many different jobs in the tourism industry such as: tour guide reception, tour design for years sitting on the lecture chair In particular, I would like to thank Ms Phan Thi Nhu Gam - Instructor of the internship who enthusiastically guided me in the past two months of practice I have learned and corrected many of my shortcomings thanks to her suggestions and advice Besides, I also would like to express my deep thanks to Viet Da Joint Stock Company for creating conditions for me to have practical contact with the industry I would like to thank Dinh Van Loc - Director of Viet Da Joint Stock Company and all of the staff in the company for helping me during this internship Practice report, it is hard to avoid errors, I hope teachers and teachers to ignore it To get ideas and suggestions from teachers and teachers so that I can learn more experiences Sincerely! NGUYEN THI MINH TAM Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where references are made in the text of the investigation, this investigation contains no material published anywhere or extracted on the whole, or in part from a study by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or dploma No other person’s work has been used without due to acknowledgement in the investigation This study paper has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Da Nang, May 2020 Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A ABSTRACT This research aims to investigate the reality and a number of solutions that attract tourists to VietDa travel company In tourism and business, tourists are important in the economic development of the company Therefore, I would like to focus on the detailed research in this study to bring out the strengths and weaknesses in the process of serving tourists Besides, I will offer a number of solutions in attracting tourists and surveying customers to contribute to the growing VietDa travel company Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The number of tourists coming to VietDa travel from 2019 to 2021.12 Table : Price policies of Tour Programs 23 Table : Tourist’s evaluation on accommodation 25 Table 4: Tourist’s evaluation on catering and transportation .26 Table 5: Tourist’s evaluation to tour guide 26 Table : Price policies of Tour Programs 28 Table 7: Tourist’s evaluation on price 29 Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .ii ABSTRACT iii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims and Objectives .2 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Methods 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Definition of Terms .4 2.1.1.Tourism 2.1.2 Tourists 2.1.3 Domestic tourists 2.1.4 International tourists 2.1.5 Tour operator 2.1.6 Tourism business 2.1.7 Tour program 2.1.8 Tour guides .8 2.2 Basic Theory of Attracting Tourists 2.2.1 Introduction to Attracting Domestic Tourists 2.2.2 Characteristics of Attracting Domestic Tourists CHAPTER 3: CASE DESCRIPTION 10 3.1.Overview VietDa travel Company 10 3.1.1 General Information about VietDa travel company 10 Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A 3.1.2 Organizational Structure of VietDa travel company 11 3.1.3 Duties of Departments 11 3.2 Real situation of attracting domestic tourists at VietDa Travel Company 12 3.2.1 Types of tour .12 3.2.1.1 Sightseeing Tours 13 3.2.1.2 Cultural Tours 13 3.2.1.3 MICE Travel 13 3.2.2 Tour Program 14 3.2.3 Accommodation 20 3.2.4 Catering and transportation 21 3.2.5 Tour guides 22 3.2.6 The price policy 22 CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 24 4.1 Analysis of the Real Situation of attracting domestic tourists at VietDa Travel Company 24 4.2 Evaluation of domestic tourists on VietDa Travel Company 25 4.2.1 Types of tour .25 4.2.2 Tour Program 25 4.2.3 Accommodation 25 4.2.4 Catering and Transportation .26 4.2.5 Tour Guides .26 4.2.6 The price policy 28 4.3 Strong Points: .30 4.4 Weak Points: 30 CHAPTER : DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 31 5.1 Difficulties .31 Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A 5.2 Solutions 32 5.2.1 Types of tour 32 5.2.2 Tour Program 32 5.2.3 Accommodation 32 5.2.4 Catering and Transportation 33 5.2.5 Tour Guides 33 5.2.6 Tour price policies .33 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 34 6.1 Conclusion .34 6.2 Some suggession attracting domestic tourist at VietDa Travel Company 34 6.2.1 Types of tourism 34 6.2.2 Improving the tour programs .35 6.2.3 Quality of services .35 6.2.4 Improving the quality of tour guide 36 6.2.5 Price policy for each type of service 36 6.2.6 Advertising 37 6.2.6.1 Focusing on the social network 37 6.2.6.2 Mode of promotion .37 QUESTIONNAIRE 39 REFERENCES .42 SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS 43 Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, due to the development of industry, the service field is one of the industries making strong contributions to the economic development of the country, especially tourism Tourism development has to relate closely naturally with social and environment and protect political security Da Nang is one of the famous tourist cities of the country and is a place where the convergence of many potentials becomes the economic, political, cultural, and social center of the center of Central – Highlands With the advantages of natural resources, Da Nang is becoming the current top destination for domestic and international tourists In recent years, Da Nang city has a combination of fascinating natural resources and rare historical values such as marine resources, forest, landscapes, cultural heritage, traditional arts, festival, This makes a great contribution to Vietnamese tourism VietDa travel is a travel company which is located near the city center At VietDa travel, visitors can book tours to tourist destinations in Da Nang Besides, VietDa travel also plays an important role in selling products from suppliers of tourism services (resort, hotels, restaurants, etc.) Moreover, the company always ensures the best service to its visitors during their journey, which makes almost people want to come back to the company when they have a chance Today, although Da Nang tourism has developed strongly, there are fewer domestic tourists coming to the company than international tourists This is one of the biggest problems VietDa travel has encountered in the past few years This is the reason why I decided to Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A choose the topic “An investigation into the Real Situation and some Solutions to Attracting Domestic tourists to VietDa travel company ” for my graduation paper 1.2 Aims and Objectives - To find out the current state of attracing domestic tourists - To survey, analyze and assess the situation of tourists attracting to VietDa travel company - To offer solutions to attract domestic tourists to VietDa travel company 1.3 Scope of the study This investigation focuses only on discussing issues related to the real situation and some solutions to attracting domestic tourists to VietDa travel company 1.4 Methods During the research, we were using some methods as methods of study, collecting the data on the internet, textbook, material of the company, etc 1.5 Organization of the study In addition to the list of references, there are three main parts to find out the real situation and some solutions to attracting domestic tourists to VietDa travel company:  Chapter Introduces the reason for choosing the topic and Introduction of research content: object, scope, method  Chapter The theoretical background of the study This chapter will show basic definitions of tourism , tourists, tour program, tour guide and basic theory of tourists attracting  Chapter The case description describing the overview of VietDa travel company and the state of business activities, as well as the current situation of attracting domestic tourists at VietDa travel company Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 27 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A 4.2.6 The price policy Price 2019 Tour Marble Mountains – Ba Na (4 days – Mountains Peak Low season season 3,840,000 3,540,000 3,740,000 3,540,000 4,990,000 4,790,000 4,890,000 4,790,000 3,750,000 3,550,000 3,650,000 3,550,000 3,550,000 3,550,000 3,450,000 3,250,000 2,590,000 2,590,000 2,490,000 2,290,000 1,990,000 1,990,000 1,890,000 1,790,000 – Hoi An – Cu Lao Cham nights) Marble 2020 Peak season Low season – Hoi An – Cu Lao Cham – Hue – Ba Na (5 days – nights) Da Nang – Hue – Phong Nha Cave – Thien Duong Cave (3 days – nights) Tour Free and Easy Da Nang (3 days – nights) City tour Da Nang (2 days – nights) Da Nang – Hue (2 days – nights) Table : Price policies of Tour Programs From table 2, we could see that the price policies of tour programs at VietDa travel in the peak and low season aren’t much different in recent years Especially at the peak and low season in 2019 and 2020 it decreased steadily through in the low season of years, but this price policies of the company is higher than others, thereby the number of tourists coming to Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 28 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A VietDa travel also decreased in the recent year This is a disadvantage of the company and needs to improve Level The proportion of price policy Expensive Medium Cheap 55% 55 35% 35 10% 10 Table 6: Tourist’s evaluation on price From table 6, the company's current price for services is quite high compared to other companies through some price of other companies, the high price is 55%, 35% on average, and 10% low, however, the rating here is only objective nature It is possible that customers appreciate the price of this travel program because it does not meet the expectations of the quality of service that customers want Hence, the money they spent on the trip wasn’t appropriate Currently, compared to other companies, the company is having a higher specific price of tours and services Price policies are not clearly shown in the content and each program The price list is not flexible and does not have many choices for customers.The price is not specific for each group of customers such as group and outgoing guests For each season, the company still maintains the price with no difference between the peak and low season 4.3 Strong Points: - The company regularly has customer gratitude programs, promotions to attract more customers - The company connects and creates relationships with service providers to diversify choices to stimulate the travel ability of tourists Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 29 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A - VietDa travel has the main source of revenue is domestic tourists, so the company always identifies domestic tourists as the main source of revenue of the company With a wealth of experience in serving international guests over the years, the company pays attention to the content and quality of the services in the tour program to meet the needs of customers - The company has built the best image, brand, and trust of customers 4.4 Weak Points: - The company has not developed a diverse tourism program - Regarding accommodation, the company has not exploited the homestay and self-catering segments - Restaurants where food service quality is not good - Not a variety of means of transport for tourists - The number of guides is limited - About the tour guide, the flexibility and service attitude is not good The tour guide's knowledge is not up to standard CHAPTER : DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 5.1 Difficulties Firstly, according to customer reviews, some of the company's current services are more expensive than companies in the same field, so middle or low-income travelers will be fewer choices for tourism products because its prices are too high to suit their income Secondly, nowadays, customers always tend to think of themselves as the first so they have very strict and uncomfortable requirements, forcing the company to listen and serve them enthusiastically, especially in the low season, customers require the quality of services to be good so that they could experience a trip better Hence, to satisfy Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 30 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A their needs, the company has handled cleverly to ensure benefits between the two sides Thirdly, at present, the form of travel business is one of the quite fierce competition industries, there are many companies doing the same travel service and the price policy is also similar together Therefore, it is difficult for the company to compete with long-time rivals and have high economic potential in this field Especially in the low season, many tour programs of VietDa travel aren’t suitable for this season, so the number of tourists coming to the company is small, which makes the company’s revenue greatly decreased Finally, a large number of customers are using the Internet for searching for information, watching some videos, planning and even booking trips However, VietDa travel hasn’t had effective marketing programs, so a lot of visitors who are far from the company couldn’t approach the information of the company such as tour programs, price policies, the quality of services, and etc 5.2 Solutions 5.2.1 Types of tour - In each tourist tour, it is necessary to consider the suitability between tourists and the uniqueness and distinctiveness of that region to meet the material and spiritual needs of visitors - Customers with economic conditions and high education level Therefore, the selection of unique, novel and cultural attractions can attract them Especially where there are many entertainment services, restaurants and specialties of that region Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 31 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A - About Mice Travel, it is necessary to rely on the quality and development of the current tourism industry With socio-cultural criteria, tourist market structure to find innovative measures Mice Travel - Currently, Mice travel has not been focused by the company The company needs to exploit more customers 5.2.2 Tour Program      Mention the destination clearly, without being ambiguous In-trip dining places must be clearly mentioned in the tour Clearly state the characteristics and meaning of each destination Mention of transportation between destinations clearly in tour content The contents of the tour schedule are not clear and detailed about the itinerary as well as destinations 5.2.3 Accommodation - Finding and cooperate to add new accommodation facilities - Upgrading the quality of accommodation services - Accommodation establishments must ensure safety, cleanliness and comfort - Adding more backup accommodation facilities when the situation needs it 5.2.4 Catering and Transportation  For Catering, the Company has to find more restaurants and hotels with diverse food in each region Cleanliness and safety come with quality as a priority Read carefully the information of each food service provider  As for transportation,, the company prepares a full range of vehicles for customers to be assured For combined tour cases, note the number of passengers and destination for the driver Cooperate with more spare vehicle rental facilities when situations arise Find out and ensure safety before you cooperate 5.2.5 Tour Guides  The company needs to provide more training courses  The company needs to hire more guides Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 32 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A  Flexibility and service attitude need to be improved The company needs to train more guidesImproving communication skill 5.2.6 Tour price policies - Proposing promotional price policies for loyal customers - Combining discount voucher for tourists traveling - people more or family tours - Adjust pricing policy on low season - Price policy must be flexible, with many choices for customers - In the price list, it should clearly state the benefits brought to the customer at the appropriate price CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 6.1 Conclusion VietDa is a travel business company in Da Nang city Since its establishment, the company has experienced many difficulties and challenges in business, also achieved many successes Especially, the increase in the travel business market in Da Nang now creates a lot of volatility including difficulties, challenges, and opportunities After analyzing the real situation of the company in attracting domestic tourists , I propose some solutions to attracting customers to the company I hope that investigation and some solutions could help the company to attract tourists and improve some mistakes of the company to develop more and more in the future However, due to limited time, there are inevitable shortcomings and mistakes I sincerely thank you for your comments and suggestions for making this work a better one Again I would like to thank many teachers of the Faculty English department of Duy Tan University, Mr Loc – a director of VietDa Travel company, and all staff in the company helped me enthusiastically in order to complete this topic Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 33 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A 6.2 Some suggession attracting domestic tourist at VietDa Travel Company 6.2.1 Types of tourism The number of tourists has sharply decreased ; so many travel companies have been established in Da Nang the past few years This will make it very difficult to compete because each travel company has a different tourism exploitation strategy to develop the company To be able to develop domestic tourism , VietDa Company proved its capacity to organize tourism It is developing the company in various types of tourism to adapt to tourists This has attracted visitors to the company 6.2.2 Improving the tour programs In the low season, the company should design and plan in detail of service system and a number of tourist destinations to create the difference of tour programs with competitors Besides, the quality of tour programs should be continuously improved year by year to attract tourists instead of making tour programs to outside destinations, the company should organize entertainment tours combined with shopping Development and diversification of tourism programs, especially link chains and services, meeting international tourism standards, along with conservation, development, image and role promotion of historical sites, destinations, and tourist areas If no bathing, no exploring mountains or caves, and other destinations, the company must pay attention to exploit tourism products suitable for the weather conditions, especially the company should mention the type of community-based tourism suitable for international visitors - visitors who always like to experience and Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 34 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A explore the local culture, visit the landscape of the villages such as Tam Thanh mural village, Bich La ancient village,… 6.2.3 Quality of services Because the number of tourists is small in the low season, the guides should pay attention to the quality of the trips, and take care of customers well In the low season, there are few tourists traveling, so tour guides of the company need to improve their skills and expand their knowledge to serve tourists better Improving the foreign language skills of the guides will help them to communicate easily with tourists, in which tourists will have a good impression with the staff If staff members speak a good foreign language, they can fully convey the content of the trips Taking employees to attend skills exchange courses and exchange skills with colleagues with other units or companies 6.2.4 Improving the quality of tour guide Because the number of tourists is small in the low season, the guides should pay attention to the quality of the trips, and take care of customers well In the low season, there are few tourists traveling, so tour guides of the company need to improve their skills and expand their knowledge to serve tourists better Improving the foreign language skills of the guides will help them to communicate easily with tourists, in which tourists will have a good impression with the staff If staff members speak a good foreign language, they can fully convey the content of the trips Taking employees to attend skills exchange courses and exchange skills with colleagues with other units or companies 6.2.5 Price policy for each type of service Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 35 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A Making detailed and specific plans on the schedules and procedures of different types of services in the company so that employees can understand and capture information, which can advise customers in the best way to avoid confusion Building and designing tour programs and innovating them each year, each season, each different event, and expand the exploitation of new tourist destinations in Da Nang today For example, Hoi An Impressive Park, Tra Que Vegetable Village and Thanh Ha Pottery Village Make a difference and highlight separately from the travel programs to ensure competition compared to current competitors Regularly proposing the design of customer appreciation programs, improving the quality of tours and services Adjusting the price to suit the low season to stimulate customer service needs The company should adjust the price lower than the original price 6.2.6 Advertising 6.2.6.1 Focusing on the social network Nowadays, along with economic development, the internet is developing, which is shown that the number of people accessing the internet is very large The company should develop an advertising program, create a community website related to tourism, leading to the promotion of tourism images In addition, there should be articles about the places on the tour to stimulate the needs of customers Optimize the company's current website, build message content and images related to the content of the travel program, including logos and images of the company so that visitors are sympathetic to the company a lot Because the first impression is important, it is a criterion to evaluate how professional your company is in the hearts of its guests Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 36 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A 6.2.6.2 Mode of promotion The company should choose forms of promotion and marketing that can be online or offline Or high tourist areas, sightseeing destinations, and tourist sites In addition, to use advertising methods on the mass media, the company should:  Partner with travel-related agencies such as restaurants, hotels, and other travel agencies to get support  Cooperate with local companies that have beautiful landscapes to promote each other and have better pricing policies QUESTIONNAIRE Here are some questions to poll customers when coming to VietDa travel company with the aim of improving and enhancing the attraction of domestic tourists to give opinions to help the company develop more and more: Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 37 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A QUALITY SURVEY TABLE OF TOURISM PROGRAM OF VIETDA COMPANY Survey object: 100 customers who have used the company's services *Obligatory Part 1: General information * Sex Male Female Age Under 18 18-40 41-60 Over 60 Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 38 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A Part 2: Service quality * Choose the answer that best matches your comments for each of the statements below: Good How you feel about these types of tours? How you feel about these types of tours? Do you feel the tour programs are diverse yet? Do you feel safe to transport tourists? How you feel about food service? Is it hygienic yet? How you feel about the accommodation? What are the skills of the staff and guides? Are the tour price policies reasonable? Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 Norma l Not Goo d GRADUATION THESIS 39 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A Part 3: Comments Through the evaluation of 100 tourists coming to Vietda company, it can be seen that over 40% of tourists coming to the company feel normal and 35% of customers feel satisfied This is also an excessive number The average target is 20%, equivalent to 20 tourists feeling dissatisfied This shows that the company has many shortcomings Satisfaction rating Not good; 14.89% Good; 47.87% Normal; 37.23% The chart 5: The chart shows the satisfaction of 100 tourists coming to VietDa company REFERENCES I Website Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 40 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A [1]https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/a-business-model-for-accessibletourism/ [2]https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/semantic-web-tourism [3] https://luanvanaz.com/khai-niem-du-lich.html [4]https://luanvanaz.com/chuong-trinh-du-lich-va-cac-dac-trung-cua-chuongtrinh-du-lich.html [5] http://vietnamhotels.net/travel-guide/da-nang.html II Book [7] World encyclopedic dictionary in tourism published by World Academic Science in Tourism [8] The fourth edition of tourism, The Business of Travel [9] TS.Nguyễn Văn Mạnh, TS Phạm Hồng Chương – Giáo trình quản trị kinh doanh lữ hành – NXB Đại học Kinh tế quốc dân, Hà Nội, 2006 SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 GRADUATION THESIS 41 Supervisor: Phan Thi Nhu Gam, M.A Student: Nguyen Thi Minh Tam Code: K23 702 ... choose the topic ? ?An investigation into the Real Situation and some Solutions to Attracting Domestic tourists to VietDa travel company ” for my graduation paper 1.2 Aims and Objectives - To find... out the current state of attracing domestic tourists - To survey, analyze and assess the situation of tourists attracting to VietDa travel company - To offer solutions to attract domestic tourists. .. aims to investigate the reality and a number of solutions that attract tourists to VietDa travel company In tourism and business, tourists are important in the economic development of the company