Vietnam - Japan cooperate to promote sustainable culture and tourism

Overview of the meeting (Photo: MOCST)

H.E.Mr. Hoang Dao Cuong, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) has had a meeting with Mr. Masafumi Shukuri, Chairman of the Japan Transport and Tourism Research Institute (JTTRI) (an affiliated organisation of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan).

Attending the meeting, on the Vietnam side, there were Mr. Ha Van Sieu, Vice Chairman of Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT); Mr. Tran Nhat Hoang, Vice Chairman of the International Cooperation Department; On the Japan side, Mr. Okuda Tetsuya, General Director of JTTRI, and Mr. Kurokawa Ryuuichi, Executive Director of JTTRI and JTTRI researchers.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong highly appreciates the effective coordination between JTTRI and VNAT in successfully organising the international Symposium on tourism development cooperation with the theme “Overtourism at major destinations and Development of Satellites - Vietnam and Japan working towards Sustainable tourism” in Ha Noi on the last October. MOCST’s Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong expressed his sincere thanks to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and a number of agencies for their practical supports to Vietnam in tourism development and related fields.

At the meeting, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong shared information about the results of the visit of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong to Japan. The two countries officially upgrading their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership will be a driving force to promote cooperation in all fields, including tourism, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

Regarding tourist exchange, in the first 8 months of the year, Vietnamese visitors to Japan reached 396,598 thousand arrivals, on the other hand, as of November 2023, Japanese visitors to Vietnam reached 527,217 arrivals. According to MOCST’s Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong, this is a very encouraging number in the context that both countries are trying to recover the tourism market after Covid-19.

Mentioning solutions in the future, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong inquired that the Japanese government and policy-making agencies will work on solutions to visa exemption for Vietnamese tourists, through which the number of Vietnamese tourists coming to Japan will increase even more in the near future because Japan always a attractive destination for Vietnamese people in all aspects: culture, landscape, cuisine, shopping…

VNAT’s Vice Chairman Ha Van Sieu hopes that in the coming time, JTTRI will coordinate with universities and research institutes in Vietnam to develop types of tourism that meet the tastes of tourists from both countries such as eco-tourism, cultural tourism, community tourism, vacation tourism for the elderly... Activities need to encourage the participation of airlines, travel businesses and hotels of the two countries. Besides, in seminars on tourism promotion between the two countries, VNAT will propose specific contents that JTTRI can participate in cooperation.

JTTRI’s Chairman Masafumi Shukuri said, JTTRI is always willing to share with Vietnam their experiences in tourism research and development. Through cooperation and exchange, Vietnam and Japan will learn many good practices and effective tourism development models; meet the tastes and demands of Japanese and international tourists. Mr. Masafumi Shukuri mentioned that tourism products associated with agricultural experiences in Hoi An were developed quite early, even far before Japan, the two sides have many things to share and learn from each other, according to Mr. Masafumi Shukuri.

Regarding the exchange of visitors, JTTRI’s Chairman Masafumi Shukuri expressed agreement with Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong when noting that the relative balance in the number of mutual visitors in 2023 is a positive and encouraging sign.

Leaders and delegates of both sides taking souvenir photo
 (Photo: MOCST)

JTTRI’s General Director Okuda Tetsuya also expressed his desire to cooperate with Vietnam in aspects of technical support, training and human resource development in the tourism sector. Mr. Okuda Tetsuya suggested that JTTRI and VNAT should coordinate to organise tourism events to promote the number of visitors between Vietnam and Japan in the near future.

At the end, MOCST’s Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong and JTTRI’s Chairman Masafumi Shukuri agreed that the two sides will increase exchanges, tighten cooperation, and make greater efforts to make Vietnam - Japan tourism cooperation become an important driving force contributing to the comprehensive strategic partnership.
* Tourism Information Technology Center
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