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.

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

Faculty of English, Duy Tan University

Supervisor: Tran Thi Minh Giang, Ph D

Examiner: 1 Vu Van Thinh, M.A

2 Nguyen Thi Bao Yen, M.A

3 Doan Thi Dieu Lan, M.A

The thesis will be orally defended to the dissertation boardTime: 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 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1.Rationale

Integration and globalization are two inevitable trends oftoday's era It is critical that countries open their borders to exchanges

if they do not want to be left behind The tourism business is the mostobvious example

Over the years, Vietnam has become a safe and friendly touristdestination for international tourists Vietnam is still actively buildingand developing, aiming to turn tourism into a spearhead economicsector of the land country, gradually turning our country into a touristcenter of the region's stature , in which Hoi An is known as a newstopover for tourists, recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritageworld, an old town kept intact with more than 1000 architecturalmonuments However, besides that, Hoi An Ancient Town still faceschallenges 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 tourismexploitation and entails the benefits and drawbacks of Hoi AnAncient Town in tourism development and tourist retention

To explore the challenges and propose some solutions toboost the standard of tourism activities, attract more and moretourists to develop, preserve Hoi An Ancient Town - this heritagecity

1.3 Scope of the Study

Space: Study the benefits and drawbacks of attractingtourists to Hoi An Ancient Town

Time: Analyzing and assessing the present situation ofattracting 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 incollecting information to urge the foremost comprehensive view andproduce accurate and highly reliable results I have selected and usedthe following methods:

The collecting method: The materials are collected frominternet books and newspapers associated with cultural traditionaltourism of Hoi An Ancient Town That has helped me to consider anopen, more comprehensive view of my learning

The statistical and synthesis method: After completing thedata collection step, figures, I'll make statistics and organize themwithin the most reasonable way This also forged me to work morelogically in learning and processing the plan in sequence

The comparative and analytical methods: this can be a waythat helps me calculate and research documents supported by adatabase of documents and documents from different and actualsources The classification, analysis, and comparison data help medetermine important and core issues that require to be exploitedwithin the topic, helping the research topic to be more complete andaccurate

The interview method: Is a conversation conductedaccording to a certain plan through a way, direct inquiry betweeninterviewer and informant, questions according to pre-preparedquestionnaires This is called the most practical method for me toexperience, learn directly and collect local people's materials in themost 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 tobest complete my investigation

CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

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 3 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

3.6 Real Situation of Tourism Exploitation in Hoi An Ancient Town

CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

4.1 Analysis and Evaluation

Vietnam tourism has just experienced a peak year of 2019 intourism development

In 2020, the outbreak of Covid-19 has caused extremelyserious

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 notonly from neighboring countries but also from localities in thecountry

Tourism, especially the international tourism of Hoi An, isfacing many opportunities and challenges in promoting attractinginternational 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

Turnover

(VND billion) 4.155 > 4.400 1.068

(Source: Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Hoi An)

Over the past years, the guest structure has changed in apositive direction with the superiority of high-quality accommodationfacilities, star-rated hotels Potential types of tourism such as resort,culture,…continue to be focused and developed As a result, tourismrevenue is constantly increasing over the years However, they

dramatically fell in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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 in2018

However, when it was on the way to get higher, covid-19has destroyed everything It can be figured out that thisrevenue was able to fell to the bottom in the year 2020, onlyreaches 1.068 billion VND This is really a disaster for theeconomy of a country with developed tourism like ourcentral region If they keep the same situation like 2020 andthe present time, it is really difficult to boost the economy of

an area in times of epidemic spreading like this Thereby, thepeople must always raise their guard so that when thepandemic goes down, everyone will join hands together tobuild and upgrade the Hoi An as well as regain the lostthings

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

Arrivals

(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

In 2019, with more than 8 million arrivals, an increase of12% compared to 2018 Specifically, by the end ofSeptember 2019, the Hoi An tourism situation is detailedthrough expected statistics:

5,587,572 international visitors

2,333,402 domestic visitors

It is estimated that in the last 3 months of the year, thenumber of visitors to Hoi An will continue to increase andreach 8,350,000, an increase of 5.24% compared to 2018 butnot reaching the plan of 8,678,000 arrivals of the year.

In 2020, The Covid-19 pandemic broke out dramatically allover the world Its level of danger can be said to be alarmingglobally It seriously affects all aspects, especially thetourism industry Therefore, Vietnam continues to implementmeasures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic, andhas not opened up international tourism, the total number ofvisitors and tourist accommodation in 2020 is estimated atmore than 1,467 million, a decrease of 81% over the sameperiod in 2019 In which international visitors were estimated

at 763,900 arrivals, down 83.6%, domestic tourists wereestimated at 703,500 arrivals, decrease 77.5%

4.3 Descriptive Statistics on Survey Subjects

I randomly selected 100 guests including 40 domestic and 60international tourists to conduct a survey on the satisfaction oftourists when coming to Hoi An The results of the visitors'evaluation based on the aforementioned criteria are listed below

Table 4.3 Statistical results about survey subjects

3 (7.5%)

3 (5%)

2 (5%)

0

(95%)

50 (83,34%)

2 (5%)

5 (8,33%)

9 (22,5%)

(2,5%)

2 (3,33%)

(80%)

54 (90%)

3 (7,5)

2 (3,33%)

5 (12,5%)

4 (6,67%) Human

Resource

25 (62.5)

40 (66.7)

5 (12.5%)

11 (18,3%)

10 (25%)

9 (15%)

I surveyed the level of guest satisfaction based on 5 criteriathat are destinations in Hoi An, food, accommodation facilities, safelevel, and human resources with different degrees includingsatisfaction, normal, and not satisfied

For the first criterion (destinations), out of 40 domestictourists, 35 people are satisfied (equivalent to 87.5%), 3 people rate it

as normal level (7.5%) and the remaining 2% are not satisfied On theother hand, for international visitors, their satisfaction with touristattractions in Hoi An is 95% (equivalent to 57 people), 7.5% isnormal and 5% is not satisfied Thus, it can be seen that the touristdestinations in Hoi An have won a certain position in the hearts oftourists when they come here With a generally insignificant level ofdissatisfaction, Hoi An Ancient Town as well as other places such asTra Que Vegetable Village, Thanh Ha Pottery Village, Phuc KienAssembly Hall, have satisfied the majority of visitors both domesticand foreign country

Food is the second criterion I want to mention Overall,satisfaction is still dominant (95% for Domestic and 83.34% forInternational tourists) However, compared to criterion 1, the level ofcustomer dissatisfaction is slightly higher, specifically, both domesticand international tourists have a rating of 8.33%

Accommodation is also a factor that contributes to theenjoyment of guests Through the survey, up to 30 domestic guestsand 58 international guests rated satisfaction for this criterion,equivalent to 75% and 96.67% respectively In contrast, there werevery few dissatisfied reviewers (only 2%) Thereby showing thesuccess 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 remainingsatisfaction level accounted for 80% or more However, guestreviews in terms of personnel are quite average The satisfactionlevel of both domestic and international tourists is just under 70%,dissatisfaction level is up to 25% for domestic and 15% forinternational 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, theHue Citadel and the My Son Sanctuary Coming to Hoi An, visitorscan combine a tour to Hue Citadel and My Son Sanctuary

 People

The people here are friendly and hospitable Especially, theyare good at communicating with foreigners They get a lot of skillsand experience In addition, they are confident and dynamic This isalso a reason why there are so many foreign tourists visiting here

 The weather

Tourists should choose the time around February - April everyyear Because at this time, it rains less, the climate is pleasant, thespace is airy, convenient to visit and explore the beautiful scenes inHoi An

Hoi An has Cua Dai beach.

 Rich and diverse cuisine

Hoi An cuisine is not only delicious, but also very diverse andrich Names such as Cao Lau, chicken rice, corn tea, stir-friedmussels, rice paper rolls, are dishes that tourists should not misswhen traveling to Hoi An Coming to Hoi An, visitors also get freetickets to go to on holidays

4.4.2 Weaknesses

 In terms of tourism infrastructure and technical facilitiesThe infrastructure system remains poor, lackssynchronization

The system of technical facilities, accommodation, andtourism services has developed rapidly, but tourism productsare often small, uneven,and unprofessional in scale, comfortfeatures

Lack of parking spots, as well as slow investment andextension of main highways leading to the Old Quarter

 Human resources for tourism

Failing to meet up with professional skills, integration, andworldwide connectivity

Tourism training is still of poor quality, and communicationskills, particularly in the tourism language,are missing.The promotion of tourism advertising is not professional, notwell-made, inefficient