Digital technology is being used at tourist sites and by travel businesses to build tour packages and attract visitors to Hanoi. To encourage tourism businesses to renovate their travel services, the city has successfully completed the data sharing of over 300 tourist attractions through an integrated database.
Using the database, domestic and foreign tourists can find out more information about destinations before setting out. With digital technology, tourism businesses can reach out to potential customers, expand new services to meet market trends, optimise human resources, operating costs, and save time.
Several tourist sites in the city have applied new technologies in product development and operation management. At the Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the management is using QR codes for visitors to find information about relic sites. Meanwhile, the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum launched the iMuseum VFA, a multimedia guide app. It is one of the museum’s first efforts to introduce artworks to visitors and promote museum artefacts in the digital environment.
The Temple of Literature uses 3D mapping to recreate ancient documents and artefacts while digitising data from ancient examination courses and doctoral steles. An official from the Centre for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature said that the management has introduced an audio guide service in 12 languages. The Bat Trang Pottery Village in Gia Lam District uses virtual reality (VR) technology to help visitors immerse themselves in the village’s handicraft festival. According to an official, digital transformation is one of the important solutions for tourism businesses to build tours to attract tourists to Hanoi. The Deputy Director of the Municipal Department of Tourism noted that the city also continues to upgrade its website and social networking sites to promote Hanoi tourism in line with new market trends.
Over the years, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) have built digital platforms to create a smart tourism ecosystem towards synchronisation across the country. This strengthens connectivity and support for industry stakeholders, from central and local authorities to tourism sites, service providers, and tourists. The VNAT’s Tourism Information has developed and published a guide on digital transformation in the tourism industry to support localities in digital transformation and build a synchronised digital ecosystem.
At a recent national conference on tourism, the Deputy Minister of Information and Communications (MIC), Nguyen Huy Dung, urged the VNAT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to continue investing in websites and mobile applications. Vietnam is making efforts to build a professional and synchronised national tourism data portal and connect with localities to promote the tourism industry.
Recently the Ministry authorised a plan to preserve and promote the significance of traditional literature of ethnic minorities using digital technology. As OpenGov Asia reported, the initiative will concentrate on gathering and conducting yearly assessments to create an inventory of intangible cultural heritages related to the folk literature of ethnic minorities. Accordingly, it will digitalise and publish 40% of folk literature works, and preserve and complete the documentation of 40% of others at risk of oblivion. It will offer financial support to 50% of authors and artisans in intangible cultural heritage and folk literature of ethnic minorities, and provide training for 50% of civil servants, cultural officials, artists, folk authors, village elders, and village chiefs.
