TRAN THI TO LAN – GRADUATION THESIS DANANG 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS TRAN THI TO LAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISA.
TRAN THI TO LAN – GRA DUAT ION THES IS DAN ANG 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS TRAN THI TO LAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN HUONG HOA DISTRICT, QUANG TRI PROVINCE IN TOURIST ATTRACTION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE SITUATION Major Code : English for Tourism : 702 DA NANG – June 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS TRAN THI TO LAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN HUONG HOA DISTRICT, QUANG TRI PROVINCE IN TOURIST ATTRACTION AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE SITUATION Major : English for Tourism Code : 702 SUPERVISOR: TRAN THI THO, M.A ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This graduation thesis could not be finished without the invaluable help, advice, and encouragement of many people whose assistance was a milestone in the completion of this project First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, M.s Tho, for giving me the opportunity to research and providing invaluable guidance throughout this research She has taught me the methodology to carry out the research and to present the research works as clearly as possible It was a great privilege and honor to work and study under his guidance I am extremely grateful for what she has offered me In particular, I would like to express my sincere gratitude as well as appreciation to all the teachers at Duy Tan University for assisting me with their knowledge, guidance, and encouragement during my study Teachers and lecturers at Duy Tan University have created a chance for me to enhance my soft skills and learn many useful lessons In addition, I am also thankful to the local managers of Huong Hoa district for providing valuable information that helps me complete this project The word “thank you” will never be enough to express my gratitude for you Thank you for everything I wish you all the best Sincerely, Tran Thi To Lan STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in the whole or in part from a thesis by which have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Danang, March 28th, 2021 ABSTRACT Due to the country's large tourism industry reserves, tourism is said to be an important pillar of the Vietnamese economy The country's economy would benefit tremendously if you know how to efficiently exploit and implement the available incentives Following the aftermath of Covid-19, the current revenue from foreign tourists to Vietnam has increased slightly This is what encouraged me to choose the topic "An investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of the tourist destinations in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province in tourist attraction and some solutions to improving the situation" with the ability to put the gained information into effect, provide useful ideas based on better analyzing the district's current situation, and contribute to helping the district's business grow in a more productive direction LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Number of tourists visiting Huong Hoa from 2017 to 2019 49 Table 4.2 Number of Huong Hoa tourism sales from 2017 to 2019 51 Table 4.3 Marketing activities of tourism in Huong Hoa from 2017 to 2019 53 Table 4.4 Number of labors in Huong Hoa tourism from 2017 to 2019 55 Table 5.5 Results of customer satisfaction assessment 59 LIST OF PICTURE Picture 3.1 The US military base at Khe Sanh 19 Picture 3.2 Map of Huong Hoa District 20 Picture 3.3 Huong Hoa is a promising location for wind energy production 23 Picture 3.4 Huong Hoa people wear traditional costumes for cultural and cultural activities 25 Picture 3.5 Overview of Sepon Hotel 26 Picture 3.6 Mien Vien Thao Garden Homestay .28 Picture 3.7 Seasons Bungalow 29 Picture 3.8 Overview of Lao Bao economic region 31 Picture 3.9 Tourists in Lao Bao Prision 33 Picture 3.10 The M48 Tank and the US Military Carrier M113 34 Picture 3.11 Military planes from the United States .35 Picture 3.12 Museum at Ta Con airport 35 Picture 3.13 Vay village’s Victory Monument 36 Picture 3.14 Tourists pass through the Lao Bao international border gate 37 Picture 3.15 Tourists enjoy with Sa Mu Tour 38 Picture 3.16 Directional nature's grandiose pristine beauty in Huong Hoa 39 Picture 3.17 The pristine caves in Huong Hoa 40 Picture 3.18 Opening of the upland fair 41 LIST OF GRAPHS Graph 4.1 Number of tourists visiting Huong Hoa from 2017 to 2019 .50 Graph 4.2 Total of tourism sales in Huong Hoa from 2017 to 2019 52 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS DMZ: Demilitarized Zone F&B: Food and Beverage TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES iv LIST OF PICTURES v LIST OF GRAPHS .vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .vii TABLE OF CONTENTS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale .1 2.1 Aims and Objectives 3.1 Scope of the Study 4.1 Methods of the Study 5.1 Organization of the Study CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Tourists and Tourism 2.1.1 Tourists and Tourism .5 2.1.2 Tourism Industry 2.2 Quang Tri province 11 2.2.1 Historical Background 11 2.2.2 Geographical Features 12 CHAPTER 3: CASE DESCRIPTION .18 59 Kieu Pa Ko's distinct cultural roots are inextricably related to these areas This has provided a massive tourism opportunity for mountainous areas, especially for ecotourism and community tourism The system of pristine and mysterious caves in Huong Lap commune, and recently discovered in Huong Son commune, Huong Hoa district, remains a popular destination for adventurers With beautiful natural conditions, Huong Hoa is suitable for developing various types of experience tourism, ecotourism, and historical tourism 4.2.2 Weaknesses A consumer opinion survey was used to determine the tourism industry's shortcomings in the Huong Hoa region The survey findings show an assessment of the degree of disappointment among visitors as well as opinions that need to be formed in order to identify the shortcomings that Huong Hoa tourism is facing First of all, the rugged climate is a place where many adverse factors such as flooding, earthquakes, droughts, moving sand, salinity, hot dry wind, and so on have caused significant harm to production and everyday life of residents, as well as making tourism growth challenging Natural disasters occur nearly every year, causing disruption to the natural ecosystem, damaging the ecosystem and causing a loss of industry, infrastructure in general, and tourism in particular This is a significant barrier for companies or developers looking to invest in tourism growth in the area The tourism aspect is too seasonal, putting industry employees at a disadvantage The staff's educational credentials are not high, and the industry's income is modest, creating certain barriers to job incentive Since low working intensity 60 decreases work productivity and efficacy, the quality and quantity area's human resources for tourism are limited Secondly, It is apparent that visitors are unsatisfied with their entertainment options while visiting Huong Hoa Tourism goods are still small, scarce, and unremarkable enough to entice visitors both at domestically and overseas Thirdly, since the continuity of the infrastructure of rivers, streams, and vegetation is dependent on seasons and climatic factors, ecotourism and exploration tourism are very seasonal, even though the supply is diverse The sunny weather is ideal for tourism in the summer, but the volume of water in rivers, streams, and lakes is limited or drained, so tourism seems to thrive only in the spring and autumn Fourth, the styles of accommodations not follow high expectations, resulting in a high level of disappointment among travelers, mostly foreign visitors Since the number of styles of accommodation is limited, consumers not have enough options and there are not enough loyalty factors to hold customers in the tourist destination for an extended period of time Finally, the distance between tourist resorts is very long, and the quality of traffic is limited, creating a range of obstacles in the tourists' tourism process Due to the long drive, travelers must carefully weigh the time factor when planning a visit to Huong Hoa 61 CHAPTER 5: DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 5.1 Difficulties Based on the survey results, as well as the inquiry, research, and information refining process, I have summarized the challenges that Huong Hoa tourism is facing in the process of improving service quality and attracting tourists In fact, the majority of community-based tourism participants are farmers-heads of households in rural areas with low educational levels, middle-aged people who mostly pursue their experiences and instincts Fostering international language resources or acquiring new skills to increase service efficiency would thus become impossible, taking a significant amount of time and effort However, since the province has not had a separate program for preparing human capital for community-based tourism, the tourism sector has had a tough time opening training courses for this object Meanwhile, provincial talent attraction programs are not enticing enough to "attract" high-quality tourism human capital to operate locally Second, although the tour software " Old Battlefield & DMZ " has obtained many results, these results are only very modest since some challenges and shortcomings have been exposed in reality For example, the key characteristics of war monuments are mostly ruins, due to the influence of nature, they are easily degraded and damaged, maintenance and reconstruction are expensive, and so on Although the tourism industry has increased investment, it has not generally met the increasing demand of tourists The way of organizing and exploiting tourism 62 products is confusing and has not been effective yet Connecting to expand tours or cooperating with other neighboring provinces is still not good Thirdly, due to local climatic and weather conditions, riverside and stream tour models are difficult to preserve and create Small tourism schemes with dispersed resource areas are not long-term and can only sustain tourism for a limited period of time due to the distinct seasonal existence Since the accommodation establishments are having trouble attracting visitors, there are no entertainment venues to meet the needs of the tourists, so the majority of overnight guests are very few in the region Furthermore, when selecting Huong Hoa as a tourist destination, tourists find it difficult to plan a long-term trip Fourth, since the tourism industry in this region is young and unconsolidated, new unique and enticing tourism products are scarce In general, the quality of tourism services has fallen short of visitors' expectations To get visitors to the region, small-scale tourism businesses have restricted construction tours Local governments have been unable to call for or have encountered challenges in motivating and supporting local residents to participate in tourism and to grow tourism together Local people have little knowledge of tourism, which is one of the factors impeding the growth of tourism in the region Finally, the promotion of tourism is still not strong enough and has not reached its maximum efficiency The absence of an official website about Huong Hoa tourism is one of the factors that make tourists unable to have sufficient and specific information about local tourist destinations 63 5.2 Solutions To resolve the increased issues facing the Huong Hoa tourism industry, I conducted research and suggested five strategies for five tourism causes in order to overcome the existing issue and draw more visitors 5.2.1 Marketing and Advertising Activities - It is important to thoroughly update useful information for visitors, ensuring that it is reliable, informative, and useful, and that it can be displayed on the pages in a variety of languages, especially Vietnamese and English Networking site In addition, marketing material will be created to draw foreign visitors interested in learning more about Huong Hoa tourism For the ease of tourists, there are articles about the region's various cultural features When publishing articles about a specific area, the show of information should be carefully chosen and smoothly strung from temperature, location, traffic, lodging, and food information to visitors get the highest planning and selection for their journeys - Take advantage of 4.0 technology to promote tourism on the website and social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, to capture the "trends" of young people to attract viewers Invest in developing websites to refresh and catch up with current trends - Furthermore, one concept to ensure continuity is to so in a spirit of reverence and confidence with visitors, so that any visitor wishing to visit Huong Hoa is welcome to so Avoid selling dishonest merchandise, unsatisfactory content, a lack of regard for consumers, and insufficient support 64 5.2.2 Tourist Accommodation - Accommodations must be involved in encouraging and lobbying to encourage visitors and raise sales by delivering travel goods to consumers in a flexible manner, assisting customers in getting the closest access to tourism items in order to both support local culture and increase revenue Besides, companies must increase the service level of their employees as well as the quality of their facilities by taking advantage of times of absence during the off-season to improve service quality - Since the majority of the hotels in the district have very obsolete architecture, it is important to concentrate on renovating and constructing modern architecture in order to draw visitors Other styles of housing, such as homestays and bungalows, require solid construction to survive the harsh climate during the severe weather season - Build a variety of side events or activities for visitors to enjoy, entertain, or witness in order to accentuate and hold guests away for a longer period of time 5.2.3 Policies of Local Government - To increase the efficiency of human services, local governments should prioritize educating district tourism business officers Since district personnel and the tourism management board are closely active in the management of tourism operations and the creation of local tourism models Therefore, it is advisable to pay attention to the professional training as well as foreign language proficiency for the staff Should focus on short-term training courses, participate in researching models of sustainable tourism activities in the country 65 - At the same time, the management board could contact some tourism training institutions, such as Mai Linh Technical School in Quang Tri or tourism training schools in neighboring provinces such as Hue and Da Nang, to organize the opening of training classes and the creation and development of expertise for the workers - Concentrate more on events that increase public consciousness of the importance of tourism services, as well as their function and task From there, it assists the local community in comprehending the significance and benefits of tourism in the region Furthermore, the community should have a plan in place to train indigenous people to become guides, personally directing visitors to the region Local governments should send them to tourism training courses to develop their knowledge and comprehension of guiding skills, as well as to nurture and improve their foreign languages From there, study back to the local area and become a professional instructor - Local authorities and authorities should provide what local people can if they engage in tourism Organizing villages to produce handicrafts and souvenirs for tourists is a way to increase income for local residents Besides, it should create opportunities for them to participate in more services such as: renting vehicles, catering, accommodation to create the main source of income for them from tourism 5.2.4 Travel Agencies - Collect customer comments after each trip, take advantage of positive feedback from customers, post them on websites, social networking sites: facebook, fanpage, to attract new potential customers 66 - Improving the way of communicating with customers on social media channels such as facebook, zalo, instruction, youtube, to reach more customers, from which to listen to opinions, learn customers' preferences to perfect service based on customer needs 5.2.5 Sustainable Development Sustainable tourism is a long-term tourism growth method that provides many advantages to the local population and environment, making it ideal for Huong Hoa It is also a solution for tourism development that is in line with the latest tourism trend To construct and complete tourism development plans in a reasonable manner, according to the district's future tourism development Content of specific planning of tourist regions, areas, and routes must clearly define the positions, roles, and benefits of local tourism More emphasis must be placed on solutions to conserve wildlife and the natural world Promote environmental and natural resource conservation propaganda while also strengthening patrol and protection programs Encourage the use of renewable, environmentally sustainable resources in lodging and tourism establishments Encourage the growth of environmentally friendly tourism styles and goods, such as ecotourism and green tourism, at the same time 67 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUTION AND SUGGESTIONS 6.1 Summary of the findings After studying and evaluating the potentials, current status and orientation of tourism development in Huong Hoa district, I would like to give some conclusions as follows: One of the latest trends in the tourism industry's growth strategy is the trend of sustainable tourism development, which is focused on the fair use of natural and human resources to better maximize the value of these resources travel Increase management capability, contribute to the local economy, and inform residents and visitors about environmental protection Huong Hoa is a district in the central region with extremely rich and varied natural and human potentials However, for a variety of reasons, tourism is still a relatively new phenomenon that does not match the potential of this land To encourage the growth of the district's tourism, promotional steps must be implemented to attract the attention of the public, mass media, tour managers, and tour planners The district's current tourism infrastructure is deficient, failing to meet the needs of visitors, especially on weekends, holidays, and summer days As a result, the town and the local government must continue to invest in building adequate physical facilities to meet the needs of tourists However, the upgrading and new construction of these facilities must still ensure the reasonableness and harmony with the landscape of the district In addition to the proposed measures such as improving the investment policy process, technical services, enhancing the ability and skills of tourism industry personnel, attracting community participation it is important to 68 have additional research measures to contribute to more comprehensive tourism growth activities in Huong Hoa district Based on the current state of tourism growth in the district, I would like to include directions and solutions based on my own point of view I hope to play a role in the future growth of tourism in this region 6.2 Suggestions Following the completion of my graduation thesis, I have some recommendations for Duy Tan University in general and the Faculty of English in particular First, the university can arrange a number of arts and cultural exchanges in which students can exchange experiences and communicate language, allowing them to speak English fluently Second, the department should provide a number of English clubs to help students develop their English communication skills As a result, students have many chances to share their knowledge and learn from each other Participation in clubs helps students connect with one another and improves self-study Third, the department also should organize some real tours or practical classes for the students of English for Tourism to have more experiences Regular exposure to future jobs is an effective way for students to quickly become familiar with the real work environment This gives them a strong enough foundation to start work on while giving them certain confidence while participating in the real work environment Finally, I give my suggestions because I want to contribute to the growth of the Faculty of English and Duy Tan University 11 REFERENCES Websites: [1] Definintion of Tourism (UNWTO Definition of Tourism) / What Is Tourism Retrieved from https://www.tugberkugurlu.com/archive/definintion-of-tourism-unwtodefinition-of-tourism-what-is-tourism [2] Giới thiệu chung Hướng Hóa Retrieved from http://huonghoa.quangtri.gov.vn/about/Gioi-thieu-chung-ve-huyen-HuongHoa.html [3] Huong Hoa – Quang Tri Retrieved from https://www.scholarship.edu.vn/vi/HuongHoa [4] Kô Kăn Sương (01/02/2020) Hướng Hóa tập trung nguồn lực khai thác tốt tiềm du lịch Retrieved from http://www.baoquangtri.vn/Kinh-te/modid/419/ItemID/145811/title/HuongHoa-tap-trung-nguon-luc-khai-thac-tot-tiem-nang-du-lich [5] Luật 09/2017/QH14 on tourism (6/9/2017) Retrieved from https://vanbanphapluat.co/law-09-2017-qh14-on-tourism [6] Nguyễn Ngọc Tri (10/7/2020) Hướng Hóa: Những dấu ấn nhiệm kỳ Kỳ 1: Tập trung kinh tế, trọng phát triển nông nghiệp, lâm nghiệp xây dựng nông thôn Retrieved from http://huonghoa.quangtri.gov.vn/Kinh-te-Thi-truong/huong-hoa-nhung-dauan-cua-nhiem-ky-ky-1-1362.html 12 [7] Quyết định 219/1998 Retrieved from https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/doanh-nghiep/Quyet-dinh-219-1998-QDTTg-Quy-che-khu-vuc-khuyen-khich-phat-trien-kinh-te-thuong-mai-LaoBao-tinh-Quang-tri-44835.aspx [8] Tourism industry Retrieved from https://www.revfine.com/tourism-industry/ [9] Tỉnh Quảng Trị Retrieved from https://nguoikesu.com/dia-danh/tinh-quang-tri [10] What are the types of tourism Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-types-of-tourism [11] What is Tourism? Online Lesson Retrieved from http://www.prm.nau.edu/prm300/what-is-tourism-lesson.htm [12] What are Tourists? Type of tourists (10/16/2019) Retrieved from https://vietnambiz.vn/tourists-20191016080346086.htm 13 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Please go through the following questionnaire and identify the appropriate responses for each of them I would love it if you could support me by filling out this questionnaire I promise that all of your responses will be used solely for research purposes Thank you so much! I Personal Information (Please tell us some of the following personal information, they will only be used for research purposes) Full name: Age: Sex: 廣 Male 廣 Female Nationality: II Survey Part 1: 1) How many times have you been here? 2) What you use to get around in Huong Hoa? 廣 Tour bus 廣 Private Car 廣 Motobike 廣 Others 3) What locations you choose during this tour? 廣 Old Battlefield & DMZ 廣 Lao Bao international border gate 廣 Sa Mu Hill tours 廣 Others 4) How long will you stay here? 5) What is your accommodation at this time? Hotel: 廣 star 廣 stars 廣 stars 廣 Homestay 廣 Bungalow 廣 Others 6) Why you choose that accommodation? 廣 Cost 廣 Location 廣 Service 廣 Architecture 廣 Others 7) Before coming to Huong Hoa, did you know any information about Huong Hoa? 廣 A little 廣 Little 廣 Lots of 8) How you know about Huong Hoa? 廣 Tivi 廣 Internet 廣 Facebook 廣 Travel company 廣 Others 14 Part 2: Please rank the following list in order of the priority you give them = least satisfied, 5= most satisfied Level Questions About natural landscape About cultural and historical relics About the friendliness / kindness of the local people About the tour guide About service quality About transportation About Food and Beverage About entertaiment About cost 10 About accommodation 11 About social security To please and satisfy the expectations of visitors when coming to Huong Hoa, what points should we pay attention to and improve? Please give us advice: SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS 15 ... topic ? ?An investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of the tourist destinations in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province in tourist attraction and some solutions to improving the situation. ”...DA NANG – June 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH GRADUATION THESIS TRAN THI TO LAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE TOURIST. .. tourists to Vietnam has increased slightly This is what encouraged me to choose the topic "An investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of the tourist destinations in Huong Hoa district,