Month: March 2016

Lord Puttnam Tackles Lao Tourism Challenges

VIENTIANE – Oscar-winning producer Lord Puttnam was recently walking along Luang Prabang’s streets. He notices a fine-looking four-storey hotel topped with a terrace. He hikes up the stairs and takes in the view. He then asks the staff if he can order a drink. The smiling worker replies, “Yes sir, on the ground floor.” 

Lord Puttnam’s anecdote kicked off his keynote address at the 18th Lanith Symposium on the challenges and barriers in growing Lao tourism. Lord Puttnam has been coming to Laos for many years, and considers himself, “A real friend of Laos,” but also a “critical friend.” He is currently the UK Prime Minister’s Trade & Cultural Envoy to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. 

He ended his Luang Prabang story to the 70-plus attendees at the event, held at the British Embassy in Vientiane, saying the experience shows the rather half-hearted attitude of many Lao tourism and hospitality staff. 

Lord Puttnam’s ensuing observations covered an array of challenges facing Lao tourism. He confronted the confusing arrival experience. “It’s like entering the Third Word,” compared to its neighbors, said the producer of the classic film, “Midnight Express”. “The visa process in Laos is cumbersome. It’s the reverse of welcoming!” 

He referred to the well-worn “Thai smile”, and asked, “Can we develop Lao tourism without losing its charm?” In Laos, Lord Puttnam sees a “discontinuity in development”. 

He warned about Lao tourism’s reliance on donor funding. “Laos needs to unhook itself from donors… Donor dollars are stretched in favor of crisis areas. It’s a struggle to make a case for the tourism and hospitality industry in an era of recurring global crisis." 

Lord Puttnam addressed Laos’ tendency to place too much weight on arrival figures. “Arrival numbers are only half the story…Laos needs to add value to this statistic…What is certain is Laos needs to attract more tourists who spend larger sums of money.” 

He suggested boosting value with more creative products. “This country is blessed with the Mekong,” Lord Puttnam said. He noted Laos’ river cruise offerings and itineraries are limited. He said the traditional transportation boats and upscale vessels may suit some visitors. However, others want smaller boats offering niche experiences and charters, “but this doesn’t at present exist in Laos.” 

He stressed Laos must deliver an authentic experience and instill a desire to return. “Tourism is about memories. This is what tourists take home,” he said. “Laos can provide these memories.” 

Hospitality plays a large role in positive memories, but, “Restaurants in Laos face challenges,” Lord Puttnam said. He noticed some eateries serve international dishes, but waiters struggle to speak other languages. “It’s a slightly topsy-turvy relationship.” He added that a restaurant can display a large gap between expectation and what it actually offers. The décor may be nice, but the variety on the menu, and quality of doesn’t always live up to the atmosphere.” 

Lord Puttnam stated that getting a qualified workforce requires a strategy. “Talent is scarce, but it is a global asset. Laos is competing in a world-wide war for talent.” 

Oliver Horn is battling in the war for talent. He is the general manager for Vientiane’s soon-to-open Crowne Plaza of the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG). He described his hunt for Lao staff, “We want to fill positions with local talent, but there is a small pool to choose from that meets IHG standards.” 

He added, “We’re trying to find the jewels…(but) we can’t even find department heads, so have to go with expats.” He noted that for every 100 interviews, the hotel hires 10. “Usually, we hire three out of four. This is a big challenge.” 

When seeking Lao talent, Mr Horn said IHG mostly looks for basic English skills and the proper attitude. “We have training vouchers…Development agencies provide a host of training projects, but they tend to target the rural poor.” He said attention must focus on differentiating the need for talent in popular destinations and remote villages. 

He added, “Everyone is trying to bite into the same cake, but we need a larger cake. How can we make a bigger cake?” 

To build the workforce, Mr Horn suggested an image campaign that shows the exciting side of hospitality. He recommended using success stories to recruit talent. “Family-run properties don’t understand human capital development.” He added that students question why they should choose a career in hospitality over one in another field. 

British Ambassador to Lao PDR Hugh Evans pointed to Lanith (Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality) as part of the solution, calling it, “One of the world’s centers of excellence for tourism development.” 

Lord Puttnam said Lanith’s concept is “sensational,” but needs better market exposure. “Not enough people know about it,” he said. “Lanith needs a marketing campaign.” 

Lao tourism also faces challenges in marketing and destination branding. M&C Saatchi’s Creative Chairman Ben Welsh presented a case study on the successful “100% Pure” New Zealand campaign. He explained their first step defined the concept as a “genuine, pure experience.” The campaign then maintained consistency in delivering this message. 

He said, “The world is becoming a similar place,” but visitors still want “to feel” an authentic experience. A successful campaign must make people want to go. They are seeking personal adventures and true interactions with locals. “Packages don’t deliver this unique experience.” 

Mr Welsh said, “What can Laos do to leverage someone else’s budget? Use digital media. Make the audience work for you.” He added Laos should leverage the “I’ve been there and you haven’t” mind-set. 

Aneil Bedi, a partner at M&C Saatchi cautioned, “Laos suffers from Luang Prabang being the main mass destination, and it is not representative of the country…A Lao visit needs to be an emotional journey.” 

Dr Hannaa Osman from the University of Bournemouth agreed. “Luang Prabang has a story to tell…It’s all about the story…I want to know who made and developed things like crafts. Where is the story? People take pride in being part of the story, and they have a beautiful story to tell.” 

Lord Puttnam observed that on his recent visit to Luang Prabang’s Night Market, 90% of the products were identical and most of them seemed to have been made in China. “Laos needs to develop far more personalized handicrafts.” 

Regarding marketing responsibility, Mr Bedi said, “The Lao government should be responsible for raising awareness in the country, and the private sector’s job is to find the market.” 

He added that calculating the expected return on investment for marketing expenses “is guesswork, but $25 in tourism revenue for every dollar spent is what to shoot for.” 

Lanith Chief Technical Advisor Peter Semone closed the 18th Lanith Symposium, stating, “We had our first in 2010, and the event has gone far beyond our expectations. This could be my last one, but over the years we’ve touched on many topics and had many excellent speakers. We’ve had great interaction and positive outcomes. The Lanith Symposia is all about participation and coming up with new ideas.”

 

VNU PRESIDENT WELCOMES THE BRITISH PREMIER’S SPECIAL ENVOY

On March 9, 2016, VNU President Phùng Xuân Nhạ welcomed and had a working session with Their Excellencies the British Premier’s Special Envoy Lord David Puttnam and the British Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr Giles Lever.

The two sides discussed the issues relating to Vietnam’s human resources development cooperation as well as the UK’s role in supporting and sharing its experience with Vietnam.

VNU President Phùng Xuân Nhạ proposed the UK to continue supporting and cooperating with Vietnam in general and VNU in particular in the fields of training, education quality assurance, scholarship provision and student exchange. VNU President also hoped that Their Excellencies Lord David Puttnam and Ambassador Giles Lever would take an interest in the exploring of solutions for graduate job security, further improvement of human resources quality and promotion of science and technology development.  

His Excellency Lord David Puttnam expressed his pleasure to visit VNU – a Vietnam's leading higher education institution and said that the British side was willing to cooperate with and help Vietnam in training, research and students support activities. He believed that the cooperation relations between Vietnam and the UK would be further tightened in the future.

The British Ambassador Mr Giles Lever said that in addition to the increasing of cooperation in training and student support, the British Embassy would support English education quality accreditation via the British Council. Mr Ambassador also mentioned the demand for connecting universities with businesses and expressed his willingness to assist VNU in this regard.

Their Excellencies Lord David Puttnam, Ambassador Giles Lever and VNU President also shared experience on education, training and research issues in the two countries. In the coming time, VNU will work with the British Embassy and the British Council on planning specific cooperative activities.

 

Vietnam, UK to hold skills training conference

A high level conference on global changes and solutions to develop Vietnam’s skills strategy will be held in Hanoi on March 7 within the framework of the partnership between the UK and Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the British Embassy in Hanoi announced.

The conference will focus on global trends in vocational education and the challenges being faced by Vietnam and other developing countries. How Vietnam can seize the opportunities to continue to develop successfully towards 2020 and beyond will also be discussed.

To be opened by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam and Lord Puttnam, the UK’s Trade and Cultural Envoy to Vietnam, the conference is expected to hear from officials of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, British education experts, consultants from PricewaterhouseCoopers, key policy makers, senior businesspeople, and representatives from education and vocational training institutions.

In its announcement the British Embassy Hanoi said that the world is rapidly changing. “By 2030 we will need 50 per cent more energy, 40 per cent more water, and 35 per cent more food. The global population is ageing rapidly and more people than ever are living in cities.”

Vietnam is entering a new era of international integration given the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community and new free trade agreements, such as the TPP and the EU – Vietnam FTA. “Having the right skills will mean that Vietnam is best placed to adapt to and benefit from these developments and be an attractive place for firms from all countries to invest,” according to the announcement.

With improvements to education and vocational training being a key strategic objective of the government’s ten-year socioeconomic development strategy for 2011 to 2020, there is a consensus that improving the quality of the workforce will be critical to continuing Vietnam’s economic modernization and sustainable development.

The conference will be followed by a British Council sponsored event on March 8 – the second in a series of national seminars held in support of partnerships between UK and Vietnamese colleges to establish quality assurance tools and mechanisms at vocational training colleges in Vietnam under the British Council’s International Skills Partnership.