The tourism industry is recovering "rapidly" in the new normal, a great opportunity for young people who are passionate about traveling.

That is the affirmation of Mr. Man Van Chung - Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Dai Nam University on Tourism and Travel Services Management; Executive Director of a chain of 3-5 star hotels and travel companies in many provinces and cities in the country.

To better understand the development trends of the tourism and travel industry in the current context of Covid-19, we had a conversation with Mr. Man Van Chung.

Mr. Man Van Chung - Assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Dai Nam University on Tourism and Travel Services Management.

Vietnam's tourism industry is recovering strongly, with many new trends and tourism products and services emerging.

-Sir, with more than 20 years of management experience in the field of Tourism - Travel, how do you evaluate and predict the development trend of the Tourism - Travel industry in the current context of COVID-19?

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam's tourism industry is facing unprecedented difficulties. However, with the wave of global opening, this is a special opportunity for the tourism industry to recover and take the lead in new development trends.

Vietnam is one of the 10 countries with the highest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the world. This is one of the bases for Vietnam to confidently reopen international and domestic tourism activities via air, road, sea and rail routes, ensuring safety and compliance with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

Mr. Man Van Chung awarded certificates of merit and gifts to students with good academic achievements of the Faculty of Tourism, Dai Nam University.

During the pandemic, the number of domestic tourists has still increased through domestic tourism stimulus programs, such as: "Vietnam, a safe and attractive destination", "Vietnam, go to experience"... The number of international visitors searching for information about Vietnam tourism since the beginning of 2022 has also increased sharply. These are very positive signals for the rapid and strong recovery of Vietnam's tourism industry.

It is forecasted that domestic Vietnamese tourists will play an increasingly important role in the development of the tourism industry as well as forming new trends and tourism products and services.

Specifically:

- Safe and friendly tourism products.

- Health care and resort tourism products according to package programs or combos.

- Flexible, adaptive and highly competitive tourism products.

- Types of tourism: nature, countryside, rural, mountainous, small communities...

- Travel using a “vaccine passport” in a “closed bubble” process.

Tourism industry recovers, demand for high quality human resources continues to "heat up".

Choosing a career to study requires a long-term vision, grasping the actual needs of the next 5-10 years.

-In your opinion, is choosing to study Tourism and Travel in the current context a wise choice? Specifically, what opportunities and challenges will students have?

Over the past 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism human resources have been "eroded" in both quantity and quality. In particular, the pandemic has caused a large number of tourism students to switch to other industries. However, the question is whether the pandemic only affects tourism or the whole economy? When the pandemic is over, tourism must recover, and the tourism industry is facing the risk of a shortage of human resources, where is the opportunity? This is a problem that learners, especially young people, need to take advantage of this time and opportunity to decide and answer.

Students of the Faculty of Tourism, Dai Nam University practice at the 5-star Rosamia Danang Hotel.

However, to answer the question of job opportunities and potential after 3-4 years, you yourself must overcome your own fears, pressures from family and society due to the disruption caused by the pandemic in the past 2 years.

But when you choose a career, you need to have a slightly longer-term vision, long-term needs in the next 5 years, even the next 10 years. Developing the tourism industry is a national economic development strategy, so it will certainly develop more in the future, the demand for human resources will increase day by day.

So during this time, be steadfast in your favorite career, make the most of it to learn more, explore more trends, learn more languages, professional skills, adapt to all difficulties and opportunities will surely come.

On the other hand, studying tourism is not only about being a tour guide, leading a tour... but also about human resource management, restaurant management, hotel management, kitchen, bartending, ground transportation service management, aviation, waterways... It can be said that this industry is very broad, there are many job opportunities, the important thing is the students' ability to adapt.

The career field of the tourism industry is very broad, with great job opportunities.

Human resources in the tourism industry are always in a state of "supply not meeting demand".

- As an employer, how do you evaluate the quality of human resources in the current tourism and travel industry, especially new graduates?

For many years, the tourism industry has been in a state of “supply not meeting demand”. The number of human resources is still small, the structure is not uniform and practical capacity is not commensurate with qualifications. There are not many qualified and highly skilled human resources and there is an increasing shortage of leading cadres to act as the core for training young human resources.

Knowledge of management theory is very good but management capacity and practical experience are still limited, not meeting the development requirements of the industry and enterprises. Knowledge of integration, foreign languages and communication is still limited. A part of the human resources after graduation still lack self-study, the skills to adapt to business models are still weak. The mindset is that after graduating, one must become a manager, administrator... while professional capacity is very weak and too passive.

In particular, most students after graduation have not yet determined what areas of work are available in tourism? What qualities are needed to perform the job and start a business after graduation. Not having much contact with work during the learning process leads to a mentality of dependence and waiting..., from which they cannot determine their professional capacity, where to work, what position.

Both training institutions and learners need to change.

- So, to score points with employers, what knowledge, skills and attitudes do candidates need to equip themselves with while still in school, sir?

Students must be equipped with relatively rich knowledge about the tourism industry, such as: culture, customs, cuisine, geography... including knowledge about management and practical work.

Dynamic and modern learning environment for DNU Tourism students.

Professional skills in the tourism industry such as: Accommodation operations, travel operations... so that students can perform the minimum work required by the business. But also to manage the work best when promoted to higher positions...

Foreign language skills that students need to perform well. Many students have very good general language knowledge but limited knowledge of their major.

Need to practice more skills for work such as: situation handling skills, communication skills, refusal skills, teamwork skills, group planning skills, reporting and feedback skills...

Training institutions need to develop programs that apply professional skills, increase practical experience, practice, and internships for students throughout the training process.

Faculty of Tourism, Dai Nam University: Focus on training vocational skills - work management, forming vocational skills for students

-In your opinion, what is different about the training environment and program of the Faculty of Tourism at Dai Nam University compared to other training institutions?

The training program of the Faculty of Tourism, Dai Nam University, is oriented towards applying professional capacity, focusing on training professional capacity - work management, thereby forming professional capacity for each student. This is a difference.

The training process is oriented towards application and professional capacity building from year one to year four. Students must experience and practice a lot at practice facilities and businesses, which is a huge difference compared to other training institutions.

The process of learning and assessing learners' abilities according to professional standards in accordance with requirements and with the participation of businesses. This helps students to complete assigned tasks after graduation without having to be retrained. This is demonstrated in the process of students doing internships at businesses such as: CatBa Island Resort & Spa, Sahul Hotel, Rosamia Hotel - Da Nang, InterContinental Hanoi Landmark72, Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi Hotel, or businesses from Japan...

Another big difference is: 100% of the lecturers teaching in the tourism department are experienced in accommodation and travel businesses...

DNU Tourism students have the opportunity to experience and practice at many domestic and international practice facilities and businesses during their studies.

- It is known that you have directly received and recruited DNU Tourism students for internships and jobs. How do you evaluate their abilities?

First, you have a very good attitude and professional awareness. You are open-minded, eager to learn and ready to “plunge” into your work. These are qualities that any business needs.

Due to continuous practice during the training process, DNU Tourism students quickly catch up with the actual requirements of the job, we do not have to spend too much time on training.

In addition to professional knowledge, you have good soft skills and know how to skillfully handle real work situations.

-Thank you very much for sharing!

Communications Department (implementation)