AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN IN ATTRACTING TOURISTS AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING

1 DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH NGO THI HIEN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN IN ATTRACTING TOURISTS AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING Code 701 Major.

DUY TAN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH NGO THI HIEN AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF HOI AN ANCIENT TOWN IN ATTRACTING TOURISTS AND SOME SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING Code : 701 Major :English for Tourism GRADUATION THESIS (A SUMMARY) Supervisor : Tran Thi Minh Giang, Ph D DA NANG – 2021 The study has been completed at Faculty of English, Duy Tan University Supervisor: Tran Thi Minh Giang, Ph D Examiner: Vu Van Thinh, M.A Nguyen Thi Bao Yen, M.A Doan Thi Dieu Lan, M.A The thesis will be orally defended to the dissertation board Time: June 10th 2021 Venue: Duy Tan University The original of the thesis is accessible for purpose of reference at: -The Library of Duy Tan University CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1.Rationale Integration and globalization are two inevitable trends of today's era It is critical that countries open their borders to exchanges if they not want to be left behind The tourism business is the most obvious example Over the years, Vietnam has become a safe and friendly tourist destination for international tourists Vietnam is still actively building and developing, aiming to turn tourism into a spearhead economic sector of the land country, gradually turning our country into a tourist center of the region's stature , in which Hoi An is known as a new stopover for tourists, recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage world, an old town kept intact with more than 1000 architectural monuments However, besides that, Hoi An Ancient Town still faces challenges Hoi An is located in an area heavily affected by storms, floods and natural disasters Many types of folk performing arts are in danger of dying out Therefore, I select the subject "An investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of Hoi An Ancient Town in attracting tourists and some solutions to improving" 1.2 Aims and Objectives To research, evaluate the real situation status of tourism exploitation and entails the benefits and drawbacks of Hoi An Ancient Town in tourism development and tourist retention To explore the challenges and propose some solutions to boost the standard of tourism activities, attract more and more tourists to develop, preserve Hoi An Ancient Town - this heritage city 1.3 Scope of the Study Space: Study the benefits and drawbacks of attracting tourists to Hoi An Ancient Town 2 Time: Analyzing and assessing the present situation of attracting tourists to Hoi An Ancient Town within the period of 2018-2020 1.4 Methods of the Study In the investigation, there are many methods to assist us in collecting information to urge the foremost comprehensive view and produce accurate and highly reliable results I have selected and used the following methods: The collecting method: The materials are collected from internet books and newspapers associated with cultural traditional tourism of Hoi An Ancient Town That has helped me to consider an open, more comprehensive view of my learning The statistical and synthesis method: After completing the data collection step, figures, I'll make statistics and organize them within the most reasonable way This also forged me to work more logically in learning and processing the plan in sequence The comparative and analytical methods: this can be a way that helps me calculate and research documents supported by a database of documents and documents from different and actual sources The classification, analysis, and comparison data help me determine important and core issues that require to be exploited within the topic, helping the research topic to be more complete and accurate The interview method: Is a conversation conducted according to a certain plan through a way, direct inquiry between interviewer and informant, questions according to pre-prepared questionnaires This is called the most practical method for me to experience, learn directly and collect local people's materials in the most accurate way In parallel with the above methods, my superiors have helped me wholeheartedly and gave me plenty of recommendations, comments, identification, and processing of collected information to best complete my investigation CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Definitions of Tourism 2.2 Tourists 2.2.1 Definitions of Tourists 2.2.2 The Role of Tourists 2.2.3 Forms of Tourists 2.2.3.1 International Tourists 2.2.3.2 Domestic Tourists 2.3 Tourist Destination and the Destination's Ability to Attract Tourists 2.3.1 Tourist Destinations 2.3.2 The Destination's Ability to Attract Tourists 2.4 Benefits of Tourism Business 2.4.1 Economic Sector 2.4.1.1 Increasing GDP 2.4.1.2 Bringing Foreign Currency to the Country 2.4.1.3 Improving Exporting Activities Efficiently 2.4.1.4 Attracting Foreign Investment and Enhancing Foreign Trade Activities 2.4.2 Social Sector 2.4.2.1 Creating Job Opportunities 2.4.2.2 Creating Income for People 2.4.3 Cultural and Political Sector 2.4.3.1 Expansion of Cultural Exchanges 2.4.3.2 Raising People's Minds and Developing Human Factors 2.4.3.3 Development of Traditional National Craft Villages 2.5 Factors Affecting Tourist Attraction 2.5.1 Travel Resources 2.5.2 The Infrastructure, Technical Materials 2.5.2.1 Tourism Technical Facilities 2.5.2.2 Technical Infrastructure of Social Infrastructure 2.6 Workforce 2.7 Tourism Development Policy 2.8 Tourist Environment CHAPTER CASE DESCRIPTION 3.1 General Overview of Hoi An Ancient Town 3.1.1 Introduction to Hoi An Ancient Town 3.1.2 Geographical Position and History of Formation 3.2 Urban Architecture of Hoi An Ancient Town 3.3 Criteria Recognizing Hoi An as World Cultural Heritage 3.4 The Value of Hoi An Ancient Town in Our country's Tourism Industry 3.5 The Potential to Attract Tourists of Hoi An Ancient Town 3.5.1 Marine Tourism Resources Cua Dai Beach Ha My Beach An Bang Beach 3.5.2 Eco-Tourism Resources 3.5.2.1 Cu Lao Cham Biosphere Reserve 3.5.2.2 Bay Mau Coconut Forest Ecotourism Area 3.5.3 Humanitarian Tourism Resources 3.5.3.1 Physical Cultural Resources  Cultural and Historical Relics Cau Pogoda Tan Ky Ancient House Quan Thang Ancient House  Assembly Halls Quang Đong Assembly Hall Phuc Kien Assembly Hall  Museums 3.5.3.2 Physical Fee Cultural Resources  Traditional Festivals  Traditional Craft Village  Art-Folk Culture  Food Culture 3.6 Real Situation of Tourism Exploitation in Hoi An Ancient Town 3.6.1 The Infrastructure 3.6.2 Accommodation Establishments 3.6.3 Labor Source 3.6.4 Tourism Development Policy of Hoi An Ancient Town 3.6.5 Tourist Environment CHAPTER ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION 4.1 Analysis and Evaluation Vietnam tourism has just experienced a peak year of 2019 in tourism development In 2020, the outbreak of Covid-19 has caused extremely serious The tourism industry is the one that suffers the heaviest The businesses of travel business, accommodation services, dining, entertainment, tourist locations, are almost "frozen" The fierce competition of the international tourism market not only from neighboring countries but also from localities in the country Tourism, especially the international tourism of Hoi An, is facing many opportunities and challenges in promoting attracting international tourists to Hoi An 4.2 Overall Evaluation of the Tourism Operation of Hoi An Ancient Town 4.2.1 The Business Operation Results (Year: 2018-2020) Table 4.1 Revenue of Hoi An Ancient Town from 2018 to 2020 201 201 202 Year Turn over 4.15 > 1.0 (VND 4.400 68 billion) (Source: Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Hoi An) Over the past years, the guest structure has changed in a positive direction with the superiority of high-quality accommodation facilities, star-rated hotels Potential types of tourism such as resort, culture,…continue to be focused and developed As a result, tourism revenue is constantly increasing over the years However, they dramatically fell in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic 8 Based on the data table above, we can see: In 2018, tourism revenue reached 4.155 billion VND In 2019 can be said to be the year with the highest revenue up to now, an increase of nearly 18% over the same period in 2018 However, when it was on the way to get higher, covid-19 has destroyed everything It can be figured out that this revenue was able to fell to the bottom in the year 2020, only reaches 1.068 billion VND This is really a disaster for the economy of a country with developed tourism like our central region If they keep the same situation like 2020 and the present time, it is really difficult to boost the economy of an area in times of epidemic spreading like this Thereby, the people must always raise their guard so that when the pandemic goes down, everyone will join hands together to build and upgrade the Hoi An as well as regain the lost things 4.2.2 Statistical Data of Tourists Coming to Hoi An Ancient Town for the Period Of 2018-2020 Table 4.2.Tourists coming to Hoi An ancient town 2018-2020 201 201 Year 2020 Arriv als 1.46 7.2 (milli on) (Source: Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Hoi An) Based on the above data tables, we see: The number of tourists has increased over the years However, they dramatically fell in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic In 2018, Hoi An had 7.2 million visitors to visit 9 In 2019, with more than million arrivals, an increase of 12% compared to 2018 Specifically, by the end of September 2019, the Hoi An tourism situation is detailed through expected statistics: 5,587,572 international visitors 2,333,402 domestic visitors It is estimated that in the last months of the year, the number of visitors to Hoi An will continue to increase and reach 8,350,000, an increase of 5.24% compared to 2018 but not reaching the plan of 8,678,000 arrivals of the year In 2020, The Covid-19 pandemic broke out dramatically all over the world Its level of danger can be said to be alarming globally It seriously affects all aspects, especially the tourism industry Therefore, Vietnam continues to implement measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic, and has not opened up international tourism, the total number of visitors and tourist accommodation in 2020 is estimated at more than 1,467 million, a decrease of 81% over the same period in 2019 In which international visitors were estimated at 763,900 arrivals, down 83.6%, domestic tourists were estimated at 703,500 arrivals, decrease 77.5% 4.3 Descriptive Statistics on Survey Subjects Type of guest Domestic International Quantity ( Person) 40 60 I randomly selected 100 guests including 40 domestic and 60 international tourists to conduct a survey on the satisfaction of tourists when coming to Hoi An The results of the visitors' evaluation based on the aforementioned criteria are listed below 10 Table 4.3 Statistical results about survey subjects Attitude Satisfied Normal Disatisfi ed D Criteria T Desti nations I T 5 ( ( ( ( ( ( 0 ( 5%) ( 8,33%) 8,33%) ( ( 22,5%) ( 2,5%) ( 3,33%) 96,67%) ( ( 80%) ( 7,5) ( 3,33%) ( 12,5%) ( 6,67%) 90%) 5 ( ( 62.5) 5%) 75%) Hum an Resource 5%) I T 83,34%) Safe ( ( 95%) level 7.5%) D T 95%) Acco mmodation I T ( 87,5%) Food D T ( 66.7) 12.5%) 1 ( 18,3%) ( ( 15%) 25%) I surveyed the level of guest satisfaction based on criteria that are destinations in Hoi An, food, accommodation facilities, safe level, and human resources with different degrees including satisfaction, normal, and not satisfied For the first criterion (destinations), out of 40 domestic tourists, 35 people are satisfied (equivalent to 87.5%), people rate it as normal level (7.5%) and the remaining 2% are not satisfied On the other hand, for international visitors, their satisfaction with tourist attractions in Hoi An is 95% (equivalent to 57 people), 7.5% is 11 normal and 5% is not satisfied Thus, it can be seen that the tourist destinations in Hoi An have won a certain position in the hearts of tourists when they come here With a generally insignificant level of dissatisfaction, Hoi An Ancient Town as well as other places such as Tra Que Vegetable Village, Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Phuc Kien Assembly Hall, have satisfied the majority of visitors both domestic and foreign country Food is the second criterion I want to mention Overall, satisfaction is still dominant (95% for Domestic and 83.34% for International tourists) However, compared to criterion 1, the level of customer dissatisfaction is slightly higher, specifically, both domestic and international tourists have a rating of 8.33% Accommodation is also a factor that contributes to the enjoyment of guests Through the survey, up to 30 domestic guests and 58 international guests rated satisfaction for this criterion, equivalent to 75% and 96.67% respectively In contrast, there were very few dissatisfied reviewers (only 2%) Thereby showing the success of the development of accommodation facilities in Hoi An In addition, the other two criteria are equally prominent Through the survey, the safety level of tourists when coming to Hoi An is high Only 5% of customers are not satisfied The remaining satisfaction level accounted for 80% or more However, guest reviews in terms of personnel are quite average The satisfaction level of both domestic and international tourists is just under 70%, dissatisfaction level is up to 25% for domestic and 15% for international visitors The rest is in the normal range 4.4 Strengths and Weaknesses in Hoi An Ancient Town 4.4.1 Strengths  Geographical location Hoi an is located between two world cultural heritages, the Hue Citadel and the My Son Sanctuary Coming to Hoi An, visitors can combine a tour to Hue Citadel and My Son Sanctuary 12  People The people here are friendly and hospitable Especially, they are good at communicating with foreigners They get a lot of skills and experience In addition, they are confident and dynamic This is also a reason why there are so many foreign tourists visiting here  The weather Tourists should choose the time around February - April every year Because at this time, it rains less, the climate is pleasant, the space is airy, convenient to visit and explore the beautiful scenes in Hoi An  Traditional architecture Hoi An is legendary for its traditional architectural beauty, the harmony of homes, walls, and roads There’s also a lantern street with various colors, or rent a small boat to cruise the Hoai River and release lanterns at night  Resources Hoi An has Cua Dai beach  Rich and diverse cuisine Hoi An cuisine is not only delicious, but also very diverse and rich Names such as Cao Lau, chicken rice, corn tea, stir-fried mussels, rice paper rolls, are dishes that tourists should not miss when traveling to Hoi An Coming to Hoi An, visitors also get free tickets to go to on holidays 4.4.2 Weaknesses  In terms of tourism infrastructure and technical facilities 13 The infrastructure system remains poor, lacks synchronization The system of technical facilities, accommodation, and tourism services has developed rapidly, but tourism products are often small, uneven,and unprofessional in scale, comfort features Lack of parking spots, as well as slow investment and extension of main highways leading to the Old Quarter  Human resources for tourism Failing to meet up with professional skills, integration, and worldwide connectivity Tourism training is still of poor quality, and communication skills, particularly in the tourism language,are missing The promotion of tourism advertising is not professional, not well-made, inefficient CHAPTER DIFFICULTIES AND SOLUTIONS 5.1 Difficulties Tourism competition in the region and the world is increasingly fierce while the competitiveness of Vietnam's tourism is still very limited Besides, Vietnam's tourism, including Hoi An tourism, develops in an environment with unpredictable fluctuations in the world situation In 20192020, Hoi An suffered from the widespread Covid-19 pandemic, making tourism even more difficult The demand of international tourists is increasingly high, more requiring and more demanding, requiring higher quality of service than before, modern infrastructure, a fresh and really safe tourist environment The whole, diversified and good quality tourism services can meet the emerging needs of international tourists This is a big challenge stemming from the demand factor of tourism that requires tourism in 14 Quang Nam province in general and Hoi An tourism in particular to overcome if you not want to be left behind Infrastructure, although the city focuses on investment and development is quite strong, but there are also limitations, lack of synchronization, traffic by air is not really convenient, some roads leading to The quality of attractions and tourism is not good, communication still faces obstacles, tourism competitiveness is still weak compared to major tourist regions in the region and the country The work of building, directing, managing and implementing development planning is overlapping, the system of policies and legal regulations related to tourism development is inadequate In addition, weather factors also have a significant influence on Hoi An tourism Hoi An is facing natural disasters, sea level rise and climate change The consequences of consecutive storms and floods in Hoi An each year not only cause great damage to facilities but also create anxiety for tourists Hoi An is also facing many environmental problems that need to be addressed such as wastewater, untreated waste from commercial tourism activities and handicraft production, and depletion of Fishery resources, agricultural pesticide abuse, natural disasters and annual floods threaten physical cultural values 5.2 Solutions 5.2.1 Solutions for Hoi An Tourism in the Covid Pandemic to Attract Tourists Covid 19 pandemic broke out worldwide, lasted, and continued to develop complicatedly and unpredictably, placing the tourism industry in the face of unprecedented difficulties, challenges and losses The tourist market, mainly international, is frozen and it will take a long time to recover, possibly until the end of 2021 and 15 beyond Therefore, focusing on exploiting the domestic passenger market at the present time is completely appropriate and timely In particular, the promotion of the domestic tourist market needs to be combined with the Vietnamese Traveling in Vietnam Program launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism Accordingly, Hoi An tourism should pay attention to and implement the following measures: Firstly, at this time, the top priority issue is to ensure security and safety in tourism activities, prepare sufficient technical facilities, and implement measures to prevent Covid- 19, this is the most important factor creating confidence and peace of mind for visitors and residents Secondly, whether implementing the program Vietnamese traveling in Vietnam in the context of Covid-19 is successful or not, it depends on many factors such as safety, service quality, service commitment such as advertising well prepare the facilities, human resources, and service conditions In addition, a principle that needs to be consistent is to it in the spirit of respect, keeping prestige with tourists, so that every tourist wishing to visit Hoi An is well received, commensurate with the cost they spend, avoid advertising dishonest products, unsatisfactory quality, lack of respect for customers, disproportionate service Recently, the press has reported the phenomenon that some service providers themselves set low limits on service quality due to low prices Thirdly, implementing an overall tourism demand stimulus program, synchronizing transportation, accommodation, discounting service tours in local areas and tourist attractions to attract visitors from the domestic market with potential, group visitors, families, young visitors The implementation of stimulus programs is not only in the form of price 16 reduction, price competition but also in improving the quality of products and services, increasing the value of products and services (giving gifts; creating innovation packages of products and services for Vietnamese people, creating confidence and confidence in a safe, friendly destination and quality service, increasing new experiences and tourist satisfaction) Avoid racing to reduce prices, reduce services, and unfair competition 5.2.2 The Long-Term Solutions for Hoi An Tourism to Attract Tourists 5.2.2.1 Infrastructure and Facilities Researching and expanding more walking routes still preserving the value of landscape and architecture Road traffic: researching and banning all kinds of cars in and out of Hoi An Ancient Quarter; Regulations on one-way roads for bicycles and motorbikes on some streets to help avoid traffic jams that cause disruption to the movement of tourists Waterway transport: Project to dredge and clear the flow Cua Dai dredging creates deep and stable currents To build a tourist boat station at some points along Thu Bon river To clear flowing creeks, to clean the environment, and improve the landscape and environment, contributing to the use of a number of canals as water-surface roads Research, additional construction of a number of car parks in the periphery area to reduce the number of large cars running close to Hoi An Ancient Quarter Tourism infrastructure: Research, invest in building a commercial center, buffet system in Hoi An; building an information center for welcoming and distributing tourists in Hoi An; building museums, galleries of ancient boats and 17 reenacting Hoi An commercial port in the seventeentheighteenth century 5.2.2.2 Apply Technology to Tourism Promote the application of digital technology to support tourists before, during, and after the trip, focusing on the development of applications to help tourists build programs, book and pay for online travel services according to their needs, receive feedback and process feedback from travelers, have the ability to follow the itinerary, actively provide appropriate information to meet the needs of tourists throughout the travel itinerary, automatic travel presenter app and convenient payment support on smart mobile devices 5.2.2.3 Environmental Protection The epidemic is also the time when we have more time to clean up the shortcomings that were previously not fully resolved, so that when the tourism is recovered, it is easy to welcome guests, creating a new look, such as: Sanitation, arrangement of infrastructure A waste treatment system was built first to collect trash from public trash, then sort the waste and finally dispose of it For easily biodegradable waste, we can use manual methods such as incineration or landfill, while industrial waste such as plastic bags and plastic bottles should be reused and recycled This will raise people's awareness of environmental protection self-awareness Build a number of public toilets to meet the needs of guests In addition, the unpredictable extreme natural disasters are now increasingly apparent, the consequences of money In the rainy season, storms and floods destroy the coasts of Cua Dai, An Bang, causing deep and fast flooding in the old town and the areas along the Thu Bon river, and in summer, the 18 sun is hot and dry With the goal of developing the ecological, cultural, and tourism city foundation that has been thoroughly pursued by the Party, government, and people of Hoi An for many years, this is a good foundation for us to lead the community to develop green tourism, towards sustainable values 5.2.2.4 Human Resources Play an important role in building, improving, and perfecting tourism products as well as tourism services This is also considered as one of the key factors increasing competitiveness and survival in the tourism market for Hoi An Therefore, it is necessary to be trained and equipped with the necessary skills in tourism services In addition, the foreign language level is the biggest weakness that needs to be overcome Right from the stage of training tourism human resources need to be overcome so that there is no situation where there is a tour guide who is not yet "part of the post", does not understand the history of a land, the development of an event, the attraction of a local specialty to introduce to visitors There are guides who not understand the psychological characteristics of each object to create satisfaction Therefore, in the training process, it is necessary to pay attention to tourists who have cheerful skills to create a happy atmosphere for visitors but also pay attention to each type of visitor such as the elderly, children to have things fit 5.2.2.5 Warming Up Travel by the Chain of Events Hoi An is a region with a long history, a place to trade many other national cultures in the world, where there are many rich; tourism materials; to create cultural events for tourism, is a tool to stimulate tourism demand in the low season and ... and natural disasters Many types of folk performing arts are in danger of dying out Therefore, I select the subject "An investigation into the advantages and disadvantages of Hoi An Ancient Town. .. drawbacks of Hoi An Ancient Town in tourism development and tourist retention To explore the challenges and propose some solutions to boost the standard of tourism activities, attract more and more tourists. .. to develop, preserve Hoi An Ancient Town - this heritage city 1.3 Scope of the Study Space: Study the benefits and drawbacks of attracting tourists to Hoi An Ancient Town 2 Time: Analyzing and