ABSTRACTThis thesis studies the competitiveness of the tourism sector in An Giang province, using thecluster approach. The thesis applies an adjusted Michael E.Porter model to evaluate thecompetitiveness of the tourism cluster in An Giang and finds that even though An Giangprovince attracts a large number of tourists every year, revenue from the tourism sector isrelatively small compared to its competitors, and the activities in the cluster target the low-endmarket segment. Moreover, spiritual tourism in An Giang province does not demonstratemuch growth potential. The tourism sector in An Giang province is duplicating the offeringsof other destinations and does not have clear competitive advantages. Therefore, the thesisrecommends that the government should not invest heavily in promoting spiritual tourism butshould improve the business environment by enhanced infrastructure, education andpromotional campaigns. The thesis also suggests that the province should shift its focus fromspiritual tourism to heritage tourism.
i CERTIFICATION I certify that the research has not been submitted for any degrees I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, I have acknowledged all sources of information and support The study does not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City or the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program Author Hoang Tu Uyen ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My deep gratitude to Dr Jonathan R.Pincus for his thoughtful and patient supervision and encouragement My special thanks to Dr Vu Thanh Tu Anh, Phan Chanh Duong and the teachers at the Fulbright Economics Teaching Program for their inspiration Love to family and friends iii ABSTRACT This thesis studies the competitiveness of the tourism sector in An Giang province, using the cluster approach The thesis applies an adjusted Michael E.Porter model to evaluate the competitiveness of the tourism cluster in An Giang and finds that even though An Giang province attracts a large number of tourists every year, revenue from the tourism sector is relatively small compared to its competitors, and the activities in the cluster target the low-end market segment Moreover, spiritual tourism in An Giang province does not demonstrate much growth potential The tourism sector in An Giang province is duplicating the offerings of other destinations and does not have clear competitive advantages Therefore, the thesis recommends that the government should not invest heavily in promoting spiritual tourism but should improve the business environment by enhanced infrastructure, education and promotional campaigns The thesis also suggests that the province should shift its focus from spiritual tourism to heritage tourism Key words: tourism sector, cluster, spiritual, heritage iv CONTENTS CERTIFICATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF CHARTS viii LIST OF FIGURES ix INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the problem 1.1.1 Clusters & the competitiveness of clusters .1 1.1.2 The Tourism cluster in An Giang .7 1.2 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Research Objectives Organization of the Research METHODOLOGY 10 2.1 2.2 Research methods 10 Research models 10 FINDINGS .11 3.1 An Giang as a gateway to the Mekong Delta 11 3.2 The performance of the current tourism cluster .14 3.3 Determinants of regional competitiveness in tourism 21 3.3.1 Given local nature endowment .22 3.3.2 Competitiveness at the regional level 25 3.3.3 Competitiveness at the firms level 32 3.4 The diamond model of competitiveness 35 3.4.1 3.4.2 Demand conditions 38 3.4.3 Related and supporting industries 40 3.4.4 Factor conditions (input conditions) 36 Context for firm strategy and rivalry .41 DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS 43 4.1 Discussion 43 4.1.1 Summary of the current situation 43 4.1.2 Opportunities 44 v 4.1.3 4.2 Challenges 44 Recommendations 45 4.2.1 The choice of mutual development 45 4.2.2 Investment in infrastructure 46 4.2.3 Consideration of the proposed An Giang airport 46 4.2.4 Investment in education 47 4.2.5 Creation of tourism business associations .47 4.2.6 Creation of heritage tours 48 4.2.7 Less investment on spiritual tourism projects 48 4.2.8 Promotional campaigns 48 4.3 Conclusions 50 REFERENCES .51 APPENDICES 56 vi ABBREVIATIONS 2009 Census 2009 Population and Housing Census AGPC People Committee of An Giang province AGU An Giang University An Giang An Giang province ATIPC An Giang Trade and Investment Promotion Center FDI Foreign Direct Investment GSO General Statistics Office HCMC Ho Chi Minh City ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization MDTA Mekong Delta Tourism Association PCI Provincial Competitiveness Index SME Small and medium size enterprise vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: South Carolina industries’ dependence on tourism Table 3.1: Tourism destinations in An Giang (listed by district) 16 Table 3.2: Airports in the Mekong Delta .30 Table 3.3: Structure of An Giang’s enterprises (2004 – 2009) 33 Table 3.4: Structure of An Giang’s enterprises (divided by size of capital and number of employees) (2004 – 2009) 34 viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3.1: An Giang’s demographic structure in 2010 12 Chart 3.2: Total retail sales of goods and services – current prices (1995 – 2010) 12 Chart 3.3: Composition of An Giang’s economy from 2000 to 2010 13 Chart 3.4: Number of tourists served by the hotels in An Giang (2001 – 2010) 18 Chart 3.5: Structure of domestic tourism in 2009 18 Chart 3.6: Average expenditures per day of domestic tourists in 2009 19 Chart 3.7: Tourists’ average daily expenditures in An Giang from 2000 to 2010 19 Chart 3.8: Number of tourists served by the accommodation units and length of stay 20 Chart 3.9: Revenue from tourism activities (2009 – 2011) 20 Chart 3.10: Revenue per tourist in 2011 .21 Chart 3.11: GDP per capita (constant prices) of An Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Tien Giang and Tay Ninh from 2000 - 2010 24 Chart 3.12: Volume of passengers in An Giang, Can Tho and Tay Ninh (2001 – 2010) 25 Chart 3.13: Percentage of drop – out students from to 18 years old in 2009 26 Chart 3.14: Proportion of development investment expenditure of An Giang from 2000 – 2010 28 Chart 3.15: PCI of An Giang province in 2010 and 2011 33 Chart 3.16: Revenue of the enterprises in tourism sector in An Giang (2001 – 2010) 37 Chart 3.17: Increase of foreign tourists from 1996 – 2011 39 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: Determinants of regional competitiveness Figure 1.2: Diamond model of competitiveness Figure 1.3: Cluster development ladder Figure 3.2: Map of the transport network from An Giang to larger Mekong Delta .13 Figure 3.3: An Giang tourism’s cluster map 15 Figure 3.4: Determinants of regional competitiveness in tourism in An Giang .22 Figure 3.5: Distances from An Giang and Tay Ninh to HCMC and Phnom Penh .22 Figure 3.6: Percentage of high school graduates 26 Figure 3.7: Locations of An Giang, Can Tho, Ca Mau, Rach Gia and Phu Quoc airports 29 Figure 3.8:Location of industrial zones and tourist sites in An Giang province 32 Figure 3.9: Diamond model of competitiveness in An Giang 36 Figure 4.1: Promotional campaigns targeting at tourists 49 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the problem 1.1.1 Clusters & the competitiveness of clusters Clusters as a new economic concept “Cluster” is an emerging term in today’s economics Michael E Porter (1998) claims that clusters have a prominent role in maintaining the competitiveness of nations He defines a cluster as a “geographic concentration of interconnected companies and institutions in a particular field,” which includes suppliers of specific inputs, providers of specialized infrastructure, manufacturers of complementary products and companies in related industries (Porter 1998, 199) He also states that when the companies and institutions get together in clusters, their whole value is greater than the sum of each separate part, and “clusters, broader than industries, capture important linkages, complementarities, and spillovers of technology, skills, information, marketing, and customer needs that cut across firms and industries” (Porter 1998, 205) Clusters promote both competition and cooperation (Porter 1998) Clusters will affect productivity growth, with “productivity” defined as “the value created per day of work and unit of capital or physical resources employed” (Porter 1998, 209) Porter states that clusters are of foremost importance since they provide better access to employees, suppliers, specialized information, complementarities, institutions and public goods Clusters also encourage improved measurement and motivation Besides, clusters also help drive the direction and pace of innovation as well as stimulate the formation of new businesses (Porter 1998) Ferreira and Estevão (2009) believe that clusters generate static externalities (cheaper access to product factors) and dynamic externalities (enhanced learning and motivation) The tourism cluster Tourism has recently been considered an “economic growth engine with particular focus at the regional level” (Ferreira and Estevão 2009, 1) Botti et al (2008) prove that the industry is a prodigious source of value creation and employment, especially in places with no other alternative economic advantages 61 APPENDIX C AN GIANG’S GDP COMPOSITION FROM 2001 TO 2010 Source: AGPC (2011) 2000 % of GDP change GDP – current prices (VND million) State own • Central SOEs • Local SOEs Import tax Non state • Collective • Private • Household FDI GDP (constant price) (VND million) State own Non state • Collective • Private • Household FDI GDP – economic activities (current prices) Agriculture/ forestry/fishery 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 6.21 4.52 10.54 9.04 11.61 9.11 9.05 13.48 12.35 6.82 10.12 9,472,152 10,069,233 11,750,511 13,233,906 15,815,726 18,647,750 21,336,406 27,215,465 36,359,774 39,497,066 45,533,075 1,346,652 335,676 1,494,127 434,068 1,673,324 518,596 1,971,520 617,722 2,532,440 799,395 2,809,637 852,177 3,101,107 1,027,307 3,914,617 1,373,283 4,774,700 1,690,048 5,551,444 2,083,959 984,078 26,898 1,030,107 29,952 1,116,389 38,339 1,295,284 58,514 1,648,298 84,747 1,887,453 70,007 2,029,880 43,920 2,497,876 43,458 3,033,059 51,593 3,408,950 58,535 8,117,430 269,869 8,564,971 270,741 10,072,392 187,211 11,253,397 160,099 13,276,002 160,485 15,826,084 184,333 18,212,173 246,768 23,270,469 263,173 31,529,567 325,203 33,930,784 410,813 185,256 7,662,305 297,721 7,996,509 518,909 9,366,272 750,860 10,342,438 947,316 12,168,201 1,225,425 14,416,326 1,674,502 16,290,903 2,396,371 20,610,925 3,748,649 27,455,715 4,623,478 28,896,493 8,070 10,135 4,795 8,989 7,284 12,029 23,126 30,379 55,507 14,838 6,464,650 2,436,451 3,973,199 55,000 39,050,144 496,997 33,015,257 5,537,890 18,281 6,761,943 7,067,382 7,812,582 8,518,818 9,507,490 10,373,246 11,311,508 12,835,831 14,420,563 15,404,076 16,962,686 1,008,136 5,745,194 1,095,947 5,961,614 1,167,068 6,641,905 1,354,605 7,159,609 1,623,213 7,881,077 1,709,105 8,658,871 1,771,957 9,533,489 2,072,129 10,761,434 2,314,349 12,094,670 2,502,334 12,897,866 213,115 154,044 212,808 194,803 124,699 327,275 100,577 493,325 93,841 742,713 103,073 897,054 131,947 1,234,184 132,002 1,588,498 155,210 2,139,947 184,339 2,476,672 5,378,035 8,613 5,554,003 9,821 6,189,931 3,609 6,565,707 4,604 7,044,523 3,200 7,658,744 5,270 8,167,358 6,062 9,040,934 2,268 9,799,513 11,544 10,236,855 3,876 2,793,016 14,165,241 209,337 11,160,941 2,794,963 4,429 9,472,152 10,069,233 11,750,511 13,233,906 15,815,726 18,647,750 21,336,406 27,215,465 36,359,774 39,497,066 45,533,075 3,937,256 4,016,146 4,695,798 5,151,532 6,122,754 7,172,712 7,373,151 9,604,073 14,384,345 14,026,370 15,234,048 62 • Agriculture • Forestry • Fishery Industry • Mining • • 3,284,884 3,308,489 3,903,160 4,386,246 5,156,861 6,213,930 6,208,215 8,027,060 12,561,421 12,190,867 13,386,652 63,537 588,835 64,808 642,849 66,525 726,113 67,828 697,458 72,509 893,384 74,312 884,470 91,602 1,073,334 99,268 1,477,745 126,109 1,696,815 128,089 1,707,414 129,849 1,717,547 717,521 29,697 850,526 38,026 989,347 51,912 1,134,513 53,919 1,331,467 36,499 1,614,134 51,151 1,943,515 59,823 2,460,754 77,014 3,320,761 73,020 3,697,011 138,401 4,436,144 168,986 604,727 716,423 819,227 936,266 1,124,936 1,322,146 1,605,107 2,059,418 2,783,331 2,966,061 3,602,455 83,097 96,077 118,208 144,328 170,032 240,837 278,585 324,322 464,410 592,549 664,703 manufacturing Distributing gas/electricity/water • Construction Trade & services 340,400 380,247 457,970 512,783 578,691 673,137 783,061 906,659 1,025,694 1,164,134 1,400,543 4,476,975 4,822,314 5,607,396 6,435,078 7,782,814 9,187,767 11,236,679 14,243,979 17,628,974 20,609,551 24,462,340 • Fixing 1,415,525 1,472,961 1,665,466 1,873,649 2,346,130 2,887,951 3,615,060 4,603,879 6,253,704 7,279,897 8,716,457 • • • • Hotels & restaurants Storage/transportation communication Finance/credit 655,776 742,169 995,457 1,255,271 1,527,473 1,909,643 2,453,879 3,197,874 3,782,787 4,388,082 5,415,703 322,920 377,537 468,086 527,044 674,296 709,885 857,470 1,041,347 1,199,362 1,456,489 1,732,806 322,128 361,674 419,809 490,030 675,570 697,608 877,521 1,149,806 1,472,479 1,804,100 2,107,279 • • technology Advisory services 1,828 987,739 1,982 1,032,896 1,717 1,120,075 1,848 1,180,656 2,254 1,180,178 3,467 1,239,520 3,979 1,376,487 5,066 1,583,680 6,890 1,741,423 7,699 1,969,792 9,332 2,159,363 • • National defense/ governance 87,700 96,813 108,057 127,776 207,242 303,496 385,482 510,540 613,139 743,416 873,588 • Education & training 286,811 313,278 354,837 414,873 473,438 590,089 716,838 928,161 1,079,435 1,237,665 1,442,870 113,978 122,626 136,382 175,547 223,923 307,375 354,129 488,507 625,977 728,306 845,636 57,254 48,143 59,747 51,513 69,972 56,664 84,000 62,896 97,728 73,585 117,983 85,523 136,613 104,304 180,363 130,269 204,114 157,625 223,578 212,107 254,900 263,542 150,275 159,166 172,535 182,974 216,250 265,220 310,997 381,029 440,446 499,885 585,864 26,898 29,952 38,339 58,514 84,747 70,007 43,920 43,458 51,593 58,535 55,000 • Others Health Culture & sports Labor party/ union/ Individual & community services Import tax 63 APPENDIX D VOLUMES of TOURISTS AND REVENUE FROM TOURISM ACTIVITIES – MEKONG DELTA (2009 – 2011) Source: MDTA and author’s calculation (2012) 2009 Province Can Tho An Giang Bac Lieu Ben Tre Ca Mau Dong Thap Hau Giang Long An Soc Trang Tien Giang Tra Vinh Vinh Long Kien Giang 2,010 Revenue (billion VND) Total visitors Inter Visitor Domestic visitors Average revenue/ visitor (mil) Revenue (billion VND) % improve Total visitors % improve Inter Visitor Domestic visitors Average revenue /visitor 508 723,500 150,300 573,200 0.70 648 27% 879,800 22% 165,500 714,300 0.74 172 4,700,000 45,500 4,654,500 0.04 185 8% 5,190,000 10% 45,500 5,144,500 0.04 320 350,000 12,000 338,000 0.91 386 20% 423,000 21% 15,700 407,300 0.91 200 478,561 199,950 278,611 0.42 245 23% 540,000 13% 230,000 310,000 0.45 181 705,500 13,400 692,100 0.26 192 6% 760,000 8% 14,600 745,400 0.25 57.18 1,130,000 14,800 1,115,200 0.05 118 106% 1,184,500 5% 20,000 1,164,500 0.10 115,000 1,000 114,000 0.04 48% 118,200 3% 1,274 116,926 0.06 67.9 239,892 3,542 236,350 0.28 83 22% 288,000 20% 4,500 283,500 0.29 58.08 597,105 6,590 590,515 0.10 61 5% 642,750 8% 7,800 634,950 0.10 185 866,401 410,756 455,645 0.21 211 14% 960,991 11% 488,152 472,839 0.22 38.9 230,000 46,000 184,000 0.17 55 42% 235,000 2% 47,000 188,000 0.24 105 630,000 150,000 480,000 0.17 120 14% 665,000 6% 170,000 495,000 0.18 478 3,977,000 91,900 3,885,100 0.12 560 17% 4,320,680 9% 118,969 4,201,711 0.13 64 VOLUMES of TOURISTS AND REVENUE FROM TOURISM ACTIVITIES – MEKONG DELTA (2009 – 2011) (Cont’d) Source: MDTA and author’s calculation (2012) 2011 Province Revenue (billion VND) Can Tho City 761 18% 972,450 11% 170,325 802,125 0.78 An Giang 236 27% 5,549,087 7% 51,816 5,497,271 0.04 Bac Lieu 469 22% 530,400 25% 17,760 512,640 0.88 Ben Tre 300 22% 610,000 13% 261,000 349,000 0.49 Ca Mau 204 6% 800,000 5% 16,000 784,000 0.25 Dong Thap 112 -5% 1,313,834 11% 27,727 1,286,107 0.09 Hau Giang 10 29% 120,342 2% 1,504 118,838 0.08 108 31% 357,000 24% 5,600 351,400 0.30 Soc Trang 79 29% 105,623 -84% 7,015 98,608 0.75 Tien Giang 237 12% 1,058,650 10% 525,000 533,650 0.22 64 16% 123,558 -47% 5,319 118,239 0.52 Vinh Long 200 67% 830,000 25% 200,000 630,000 0.24 Kien Giang 752 34% 5,067,937 17% 150,451 4,917,486 0.15 Long An Tra Vinh % improve Total visitors % improve Inter Visitor Domestic visitors Average revenue/visitor 65 APPENDIX E 2010 PCI OF PROVINCES IN MEKONG DELTA & TAY NINH Source: PCIVietnam.org Provinces Entry Costs Access to Land Transparency and Access to Information Time Costs of Regulatory Compliance Informal Charges Proactivity of Provincial Leadership Business Support Service Labor Training Legal Institutions PCI Index Dong Thap 7.09 7.37 6.26 8.08 7.57 7.38 6.03 5.13 7.17 67.22 Tra Vinh 7.37 8.65 6.07 7.04 8.53 7.75 3.58 5.36 5.19 65.8 Hau Giang 7.58 8.35 5.96 7.43 8.08 6.74 3.46 5.04 4.96 63.91 Vinh Long 7.04 6.62 6.65 7.08 7.53 6.00 4.19 5.40 5.43 63.4 Ben Tre 7.59 7.30 5.84 7.18 8.22 6.68 3.88 4.90 5.55 63.11 An Giang 6.92 7.64 6.34 6.33 6.24 6.99 5.14 5.49 4.48 61.94 Soc Trang 6.07 6.91 5.66 8.38 7.02 6.91 4.54 4.41 6.12 61.49 Tien Giang 6.92 7.48 6.19 5.38 7.04 6.27 4.53 5.37 4.40 59.63 Kien Giang 6.76 7.24 5.74 5.50 7.04 5.86 5.06 4.94 6.98 58.9 Bac Lieu 6.27 7.63 4.87 6.29 7.72 6.10 5.19 5.00 5.01 58.2 Ca Mau 6.67 6.05 6.10 5.02 6.37 3.99 4.85 4.84 3.39 53.57 Tay Ninh 7.58 7.82 5.68 5.42 6.66 5.39 4.15 5.14 5.08 57.93 66 APPENDIX F 2011 PCI of PROVINCES IN MEKONG DELTA & TAY NINH Source: PCIVietnam.org Entry Costs Access to Land Transparency and Access to Information Time Costs of Regulatory Compliance Informal Charges Proactivity of Provincial Leadership Business Support Service Labor Training Legal Institutions PCI Index Dong Thap 9.27 7.04 6.61 6.77 7.79 8.14 3.16 5.11 6.32 67.06 Soc Trang 8.70 7.95 5.31 8.26 8.40 5.48 2.25 4.33 6.48 62.68 An Giang 9.13 6.25 5.62 7.86 6.76 6.72 5.14 4.01 4.84 62.22 Kien Giang 8.84 6.19 5.34 7.12 7.32 4.60 5.59 4.28 6.34 59.98 Ben Tre 8.13 7.00 6.15 6.14 7.79 4.87 3.84 4.68 5.29 59.9 Tien Giang 8.79 6.97 5.83 7.31 8.36 1.93 2.49 4.73 6.87 59.58 Ca Mau 7.73 7.12 5.97 7.76 6.96 3.55 3.15 4.43 6.63 59.43 Bac Lieu 8.69 7.46 5.44 7.01 8.29 5.07 1.75 3.97 3.14 57.92 Tra Vinh 9.02 7.09 5.58 6.32 8.51 3.62 2.20 4.15 5.11 57.56 Hau Giang 8.00 6.62 5.74 5.86 6.56 5.87 3.71 4.27 5.69 57.4 Vinh Long 8.38 5.42 6.30 5.07 6.44 3.96 3.00 3.85 5.29 54.1 Tay Ninh 8.53 7.34 5.79 5.55 8.57 5.77 3.49 4.51 6.20 60.43 Provinces 67 APPENDIX G TOURISM AGENDA IN AN GIANG 68 APPENDIX H TOURISM MAP IN AN GIANG 69 APPENDIX I ICAO’S AERODROME REFERENCE CODE Source: ICAO (1999) Code number Code element Code letter Code element Wing span Aeroplane reference field length Outer main gear wheel spana (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) Less than 800 m A Up to but not including 15 m Up to but not including 4.5 m 800 m up to but not including 1200 m B 15 m up to but not including 24 m 4.5 m up to but not including m 1200 m up to but not including 1800 m C 24 m up to but not including 36 m m up to but not including m 1800 m and over D 36 m up to but not including 52 m m up to but not including 14 m E 52 m up to but not including 65 m m up to but not including 14 m F 65 m up to but not including 80 m 14 m up to but not including 16 m 70 APPENDIX G SELECTED INDICATORS OF DESTINATION COMPETITIVENESS Source: Dwyer, L., & Kim, C (2003) No Indicators Endowed resources Natural Comfortable climate for tourism Cleanliness/sanitation Natural wonders/scenery Flora and fauna Unspoiled nature National parks/natural reserves Culture/heritage Historic heritage sites and museums Artistic/architectural features Traditional arts Variety of cuisine Cultural precincts and (folk) villages Created resources Tourism infrastructure Accommodation quality/variety Airport efficiency/quality Tourist guidance/information Local transport effiency/quality Visitor accessibility to natural areas Convention/exhibition facilities (capacity/quality) Food services quality/variety Range of activities Water based Nature based Adventure activities Recreation facilities Sport facilities Shopping Variety of shopping items Quality of shopping facilities Quality of shopping items Value for money of shopping items Diversity of shopping experiences Entertainment Check Competitive √ √ √ √ √ Not very competitive √ √ 71 Amusement/theme parks Entertainment quality/variety Nightlife Special events/festivals Supporting factors General infrastructure Adequacy of infrastructure to meet visitor needs Health/medical facilities to serve tourists Financial institution and currency exchange facilities Telecommunication for tourists Security/safety for visitors Local transportation systems Waste disposal Electricity supply Quality of services Tourism/hospitality firms which have the well-defined performance Standards in service delivery Firms have programmes to ensure/monitor visitor satisfaction Visitor satisfaction with quality of the services Industrial appreciation of importance of service quality Development of training programmes to enhance quality of service Speed/delays through customs/immigration Attitudes of customs/immigration officials Accessibility of destinations Distance/flying time to destination from key of origins Direct/indirect flights to destination Ease/cost of obtaining entry visa Ease of combining travel to destination with travel to other destinations Frequency/capacity of access transport to destination Hospitality Friendliness of residents towards tourists Existence of resident hospitality development programmes Residents support for tourism industry Ease of communication between tourists and residents Market ties Business ties/trade links with major tourist origin markets Sporting links with major tourist origin markets Ethnic ties with major tourist origin markets √ Not competitive √ √ 72 Religious ties with major tourist origin markets Extent of foreign investment in local tourism industry Destination management Destination management organization NTO acts as coordinating body for private and public sector tourism organizations NTO effectively represents views of all tourism stakeholders in tourism development NTO liaises effectively with private sector in tourism policy, planning and development NTO provides statistical information as input to tourism policy, planning and development NTO strategically monitors and evaluates the nature and type of tourism development Destination marketing management Reputation of NTO Effectiveness of destination positioning Strength/Clarity of destination image Efficient monitoring of destination marketing activities Effective packaging of destination experiences Links between destination tourism organizations and travel trade NTO identification of target markets NTO strategic alliances with other NTO Destination marketing is based on knowledge of competitor products Present ‘fit’ between destination products and visitor preferences Destination policy, planning, development Existence of formal long-term ‘vision’ for tourism industry development Destination ‘vision’ reflects resident values Destination ‘vision’ reflects tourism industry stakeholder values Tourism policy conforms to a formal destination ‘vision’ Tourism planning and development conforms to a formal destination ‘vision’ Tourism development is integrated into overall industrial development Ongoing tourism development is responsive to visitor needs Extent to which research findings are integrated into tourism planning and development Not competitive 73 Inventory of most significant attractors, facilities, services and experiences offered in destination Identification of major competitors and their product offerings Community support for special events Human resource development Public sector commitment to tourism/hospitality education and training Private sector commitment to tourism/hospitality education and training Training/education responsive to changing visitor needs Range/quality of tourism/hospitality training programmes Environmental management Public-sector recognition of importance of ‘sustainable’ tourism development Private sector recognition of importance of ‘sustainable’ tourism development Existence of laws and regulations protecting the environment and heritage Research and monitoring of environmental impacts of tourism Situational Conditions Competitive (micro) environment Domestic business environment in destination Management capabilities of tourism firms and organizations Extent of competitive rivalry between firms in domestic tourism industry Level of cooperation between firms in destination tourism industry Links between tourism/hospitality firms and firms in other industrial sectors Entrepreneurial Qualities of local tourism stakeholders Access to venture capital Tourism/hospitality firms operate in ethical manner Firms use computer technology/commerce to achieve competitive advantage Destination location Perceived ‘exoticness’ of location Proximity to other destinations Distance from major origin markets Travel time from major origin markets Global (macro) environment √ 74 The global business context Political stability Legal/Regulatory environment Government policies for tourism development Economic conditions in origin markets Socio-cultural environment Investment environment for tourism development Technology changes Price competitiveness Value for money in destination tourism Exchange rate Air ticket prices from major origin markets Accommodation prices Destination package tour prices Price of destination visit relative to competitor destinations Safety/Security Level of visitor safety in destination Incidence of crimes against tourists in destination Destination awareness Destination perception Destination preferences Market Performance Indicators Visitors statistics (numbers) Number of foreign visitors Growth rate of foreign visitors Market share of destination – world, regional Shifts in market share Average length of stay Rate of revisit Visitors statistics (expenditure) Expenditure of foreign visitors (FX receipts) Growth rate of expenditure of foreign visitors Share of destination in total tourism expenditure – world, regional Shifts in expenditure share Foreign exchange earnings from tourism as percentage of total exports Contribution of tourism to economy Contribution of tourism to value added (absolute values and percentages, and rate of growth) o Domestic tourism o International tourism √ Not competitive √ 75 Contribution of tourism to employment (absolute numbers; percentage of total employment and rate of growth) o Domestic tourism o International tourism Productivity of tourism industry sectors Indicators of economic prosperity Aggregate levels of employment Rate of economic growth Per capita income Tourism investment Investment in tourism industry from domestic sources Foreign direct investment in tourism industry Investment in tourism as percentage of total industry investment (and trend) Price competitiveness indices Aggregate price competitiveness indices By journey purpose By tourism sector Government support for tourism Budget for tourism ministry Budget for NTO NTO expenditure on destination marketing (comparison with competitors) Support for transport infrastructure Industry programmes accessed by tourism industry Tax concessions Subsidies to industry Export marketing assistance Vocational education skills/training for tourism industry ... 2009 Census 2009 Population and Housing Census AGPC People Committee of An Giang province AGU An Giang University An Giang An Giang province ATIPC An Giang Trade and Investment Promotion Center... per capita (constant prices) of An Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Tien Giang and Tay Ninh from 2000 - 2010 24 Chart 3.12: Volume of passengers in An Giang, Can Tho and Tay Ninh (2001... Giang, Can Tho, Kien Giang, Tien Giang and Tay Ninh from 2000 - 2010 20,000 18,000 Thousand VND 16,000 14,000 Can Tho 12,000 Kien Giang 10,000 Tien Giang 8,000 Tay Ninh 6,000 An Giang 4,000 2,000