Hoi An Tourist Holding Company is a major brand name in Quang Nam province. After nearly 22 years of construction and development, the company has promoted its strengths to boost its significant contributions to the province’s tourism economic development. General Director Le Tien Dung said: “What we have achieved over the past 22 years is a motivation and inspiration for us to continue to reach new highs, uphold the leading position in tourism services sector in the central region in particular and in Vietnam in general.” Cong Luan reports.
2012 was a tough year for most tourism and services companies. However, Hoi An Tourist Holding Company managed to overcome difficulties and achieve encouraging results. Could you talk about this success?
As known, the economy slowed down in 2012. In Hoi An, a series of new projects launched along Cua Dai placed growing pressures on the company’s business performance, human resources, competitiveness, customer relations and market research.
However, the timely change produced breakthroughs. The company continued to maintain traditional tourist markets, and sought and penetrated new ones. Particularly, we increased the proportion of customers from global networks, websites, companies and MICE market. Last year, online bookings at Hoi An Hotel increased 231 percent, thus raising its accommodation revenue by 27.11 percent over 2011. Online bookings at Hoi An Beach Resort exceeded the plan by 40 percent, thus contributing to the overall tourist growth of 2.6 percent.
The company continued to assign more operating power and autonomy to its affiliates. The firm invested in developing human resources in order to raise the quality of products and services for customers. Due to overall difficulties, the company’s revenue reached VND164 billion in 2012, equal to 97.2 percent of the full-year plan and up 19 percent from a year earlier. Its profit before tax grossed VND38.8 billion, equal to 100.3 percent of the yearly plan and up 27.5 percent year on year. Its dividend was VND2,704 per share in the year. Remarkably, the average monthly pay for an employee was VND5 million. The firm fulfilled all its tax obligations to the State and ensured all employment regimes and policies for employees.
In 2013, the company will strive to attain revenue of over VND163 billion, profit before tax of VND29.79 billion, and tax payment of VND15.969 billion. Are you confident of achieving, or even exceeding, these targets?
In fact, 2013 is forecast to be another rough year because input factors are expected to increase, visitors are projected to keep going down and the market is shared by many new companies. However, the company is targeting at revenue of VND163 billion.
So, we have reasonable pricing policies to keep traditional markets. We focus on tapping the Australia, New Zealand and Asia markets, attracting more customers booking services online or using MICE and corporate services. In the domestic market, we target potential customers. We will effectively carry out support services while stepping up advertisement, marketing and investment for higher service quality.
More specifically, the company continues to build, advertise and sell products directionally. Hoi An Hotel and Hoi An Beach Resort introduce flexible pricing policies while performing research on new products, intensifying supervision on service quality, and investing in human resources. The company continues to perfect tourism service quality towards Green Lotus standards introduced and recognised by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).
With the Hoi An Travel Centre, the company coordinates with other units to build seasonal package tour programmes, increase overland tours to Laos and Thailand, effectively organise outbound and inbound tour services, ticket services, Tra Que tours and Cu Lao Cham tours. Hoi An Cleaning Enterprise strengthens inspection and monitoring over service quality, particularly in the company’s two hotels, to meet its business requirements.
Currently, the company has investment plans to increase the percentage of revenue of catering services and other service in its revenue structure and provide new services in Bai Bac – Cu Lao Cham, tourist cruises on river and sea routes and services in the western region of Quang Nam province. The 40th founding anniversary of Vietnam – Japan diplomatic ties and the fifth Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2013 are also good occasions for the company.
This year, the company will perform an overall upgrading and renovation of Hoi An Beach Resort and Hoi An Hotel. It will invest in new services for Tra Que vegetable village while expanding cooperation with other firms to provide oceangoing trips and work on new routes along Ho Chi Minh Trail in Kady commune, Nam Giang district.
In 2013, Vietnam is celebrating the 40th founding anniversary of Vietnam – Japan diplomatic ties and Quang Nam province is hosting the fifth Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2013. Quang Nam province has received a lot of direct investment as well as ODA from Japan. As a business in Quang Nam, how do you assess the investment environment of the province?
We can easily have a close view of the local investment environment when we see a lot of big international scale projects here. The open mechanism in the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone does not exist in all places.
We are operating in tourism and service fields. These fields have good potential when investment encouragement policies of the province are very clear. On the other hand, traditional history and culture and natural conditions are also special “endowments.” Above all, the people of Quang Nam are the very “trustable environment”.
In recent years, Japanese governmental and non-governmental organisations have invested in many projects here. Many projects have invested for management and preservation of world heritages. This is also one of investment ways for sustainable values.
What would you like to say to international tourists in general and Japanese ones in particular when they come to Hoi An Beach Resort?
It is no coincidence that German photographic artist Han Skemp, who specialises in tourism photography, compared Hoi An Beach Resort to an “oasis of peace where rivers meet the ocean” when he came here. This is a place where the high sky and the vast ocean meet. Visitors will feel like they are staying with their families in the charming nature.
Hoi An Beach Resort has been twice awarded the “Top 10 Hotels in Vietnam” title and what makes the Hoi An Beach Resort brand name is its value close to human beings. Vietnamese, Japanese and foreign tourists will feel satisfied and at ease when they are at Hoi An Beach Resort or Hoi An Hotel, where the sincerity is honoured as the smile of their own!
Đăng ký: VietNam News