Published:  09:23 Tuesday - July 09, 2013

According to the Tourism Association in the central city of Da Nang, there is severe shortage of at least 200,000 skilled personnel in the tourism industry to meet the rapidly growing demand.

Da Nang welcomed more than 2.3 million foreign tourists in 2011, earning revenue up to US$VND1.8 trillion, an increase of 45 percent compared to 2010.

The City has 55 tourist projects of which some are the Fusion Maia Resort, Vinpearl Luxury, Fantasy Park and Hyatt Regency.

Besides, a new airport has now opened direct flights to Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and China. However, even as the infrastructure grows, the City tourism sector lacks skilled personnel.

In the last two years, the mushrooming of new hotels and resorts with more than 2,000 rooms has also added to severe shortage of workers.

Huynh Tan Vinh, Chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association, said that tourism colleges just satisfy one tenth of the need and fierce competition between tourist companies are luring away experienced personnel.

Firms offer attractive salaries to lure foreign personnel or people from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring districts. Companies are then left to recruit inexperienced or untrained employees.

Besides, employees speaking different languages, especially Russian, have become a necessity as Russian people flock to Da Nang and stay for long periods of time. Russian visitors are generous spenders, yet very few people can speak their language.

The numbers of Korean, German and Spanish holidaymakers have also increased and very few speak English. Tourist companies are therefore in quite a dilemma as it is very difficult to find tourist guides who meet requirements.

By Nguyen Hung - Translated by Uyen Phuong
Source:SGT