The Hanoi Department of Information and Communications plans to install WiFi hotspots around the city as part of its plan to digitally transform and improve tourism in the capital city.
Currently, 25 free WiFi hotspots have been set up at popular tourist destinations in Hanoi. Hanoi will set up nine more hotspots over the next few months. These efforts are made to give tourists the best experience when traveling in the city, the Director of the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications, Nguyen Thanh Liem, stated.
He said that being aware of the importance of the capital’s tourism industry, his agency proposed to shoulder part of the responsibility in promoting the image of the city and help the Hanoi Department of Tourism in digital transformation.
According to the latest report of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), thanks to global COVID-19 vaccinations, the world tourism industry will gain a slow recovery in 2021 and regain growth momentum in the second half of the year.
UNWTO also said that domestic tourism would be the main trend this year, accounting for 90% of tourists. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, people are travelling close to home, to destinations close to nature (60%), and in small groups or with their families. International tourism activities are likely to reopen later, in the third quarter of 2021.
A press release has explained that the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism assessed that domestic tourism will remain a key factor this year. Thanks to the Vietnamese government’s control of the virus, an agency stated that 71% of Vietnamese citizens are ready to travel. These are good signs for Vietnam’s tourism industry.
Hanoi has allowed bars, karaoke parlours, and discos to resume their activities on 23 March, creating favourable conditions for the recovery of tourism and service activities. The Department of Tourism and the Department of Information and Communications of Hanoi have signed a coordination programme to improve the efficiency of information, propaganda, and the promotion and application of information technology in tourism activities for 2021-2025.
According to the Director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, Dang Huong Giang, the tourism industry contributed 12.54% to Hanoi’s GDP in 2019, which dropped to only 3.54% of GDP in 2020. To deal with the situation, in addition to digital transformation and IT application, the Department of Tourism will organise many activities to stimulate demand and promote the city’s tourism industry.
Giang said that tourist firms are ready to go digital, which will help businesses save on spending and provide better services for tourists. The Hanoi authorities are supportive of digital transformation; aiming to build a green, clean, friendly, safe, and attractive tourist environment.
Hanoi aims to be among the top five Vietnamese cities in digital transformation, information technology, and indices of competitiveness, innovation, and cybersecurity by 2025. Also, in the leading group in Southeast Asia for data science and artificial intelligence (AI).
As OpenGov had reported earlier, the city will improve competitiveness with its digital economy proportion in GRDP at about 30%. The labour productivity growth rate will be 7-7.5%. It also targets to complete the city’s innovative start-up ecosystem shortly.
