According to the World Travel Awards (WTA), Vietnam tourism was honored to receive 6 nominations in the vote for the world’s top award at the end of 2019.
The World Travel Awards (WTA) is an annual award that honors outstanding destinations and quality travel service providers. The award, established in 1993, has now become one of the quality measures of the tourism industry and is recognized worldwide.
2019 can be considered a successful year for Vietnam’s tourism industry with a series of places honored on prestigious world rankings such as Hoi An, Phu Quoc, Can Tho, and Buu Long Pagoda (HCMC), Phung Hung Chinatown (Hanoi), etc. Not only that, in the list of categories of the World Travel Awards (World Travel Awards 2019 – WTA) that has just been announced, Vietnam has 6 nominations. Primarily, there is one section that Vietnam has participated in for the first time, which is the “leading culinary tourism destination in the world”.
Vietnam is nominated in 6 categories, including:
- World’s Leading City Destination 2019: Hanoi, Vietnam.
- World’s Leading Culinary Destination 2019: Vietnam.
- World’s Leading Cultural City Destination 2019: Hoi An, Vietnam.
- World’s Leading Cultural Destination 2019: Vietnam.
- World’s Leading Destination 2019: Vietnam.
- World’s Leading Tourist Board 2019: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.
The nomination for these prestigious awards of WTA proves that Vietnam’s tourism is gradually shaping as a leading destination in the world. It also shows that the world is continually praising and honoring the originality and quality of Vietnam. However, in 2018, despite being nominated as the World’s Leading Destination, Vietnam only officially received Asia’s Leading Destination Award. The world has many other famous tourist destinations that are difficult to overcome, but Vietnam still has the right to be proud of surpassing other goals such as China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan (China), Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,… to become the No. 1 destination in Asia.
In recent years, Vietnam’s tourism has witnessed remarkable growth. From 2015 to 2018, the number of international tourists to Vietnam doubled, from 7.9 million (2015) to 15.5 million (2018); the average growth rate is about 25% / year. This is considered the world’s top growth rate, according to the annual assessment of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In 2018, Vietnam was also ranked 3rd in the top 10 countries and territories by UNWTO in the world with the highest tourism growth rate.
According to the World Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum – WEF (2 times every one year), Vietnam’s cultural resources are ranked 29/140, 2nd Southeast Asia and natural resources are ranked 35/140, 3rd in the region. These are the outstanding strengths of Vietnam’s tourism, rated by WEF in the leading group in the world. But a higher goal also needs to be set when among 1.4 billion globetrotters in the world today, Vietnam has only attracted 16 million.
Meanwhile, with outstanding global values and unique, different culture, Vietnam is the perfect destination for tourists and world-class brands and products. In 2017, the Hollywood blockbuster movie “Kong: Skull Island” by American director Jordan Vogt-Roberts was released with the majority of footage taken at famous destinations in Vietnam, such as Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, and Quang Binh. Most recently, in early September, the renowned fashion brand Louis Vuitton (France) launched a campaign to promote a new product under the theme “The Spirit of Travel,” in which the entire scene was shot in Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh, Hoi An, and Sa Pa.
The most exciting and new category that Vietnam was nominated this year is “The world’s top culinary tourism destination.” This is the first time Vietnamese cuisine has been recognized and registered on the nominees by a prestigious and world-class award organization. Cuisine is a unique quintessence in the traditional culture of Vietnam, which crystallizes the knowledge of Vietnamese people about nature, techniques, aesthetics, customs, and manners. Vietnamese cuisine is vibrant and varied with each dish representing the flavor of each region. Harmonizing from colors to flavors, each recipe has a unique feature that attracts any customer right from the first time enjoying.
Many Vietnamese dishes have strongly impressed the international visitors and culinary experts in the world, such as Pho, banh mi, spring rolls, bun cha, egg coffee, beef noodles, pancakes, etc. CNN (USA) once rated Vietnamese cuisine as one of the ten best cuisines in the world. Many world-famous chefs have come to Vietnam to explore and experience unique traditional dishes, including Vietnamese-Australian chef Luke Nguyen, British Chef Gordon Ramsay, British Chef Jamie Oliver, American Chef Anthony Bourdain, New Zealand chef Bobby Chinn, etc.
The fact that Vietnam has been nominated in many global categories (not just in the region like in the previous years) is an opportunity to promote Vietnam’s image to the international community actively. At the same time, it shows that Vietnam tourism with outstanding values in nature, culture, cuisine, etc. has increasingly made its mark on the world tourism map, affirming its attractiveness, quality, and brand name.
