TRAINING CULTURAL TOURISM HUMAN RESOURCES IN THE CONTEXT
OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
MA. Do Thi Huyen Thanh1
Abtracts: Tourism is Vietnam’s key economic sector, contributing more than 9% to GDP in 2019.
However, when the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, tourism almost froze, and workers working
in the tourism sector gradually shifts to other industries. In 2022, when the State implements
the new normal, tourism began to flourish and has made many positive contributions to the
overall development of the country. In particular, the number of international tourists coming
to Vietnam is increasing, contributing greatly to the development of our country’s tourism sector.
However, after the pandemic, human resources are lacking in quantity and cannot meet quality
requirements, especially in the current period of international economic integration. Realizing
such a problem, the author analyzes the role of tourism in the economy, analyzes the current
situation of tourism labor and tourism training in the context of current international economic
integration. From there, the author proposes a few solutions to the state and training institutions
to train human resources to meet tourism development in the current context of international
economic integration.
Keyword: Human resources, human resource training, international economic integration.
1. INTRODUCTION
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s tourism industry had
spectacular growth. In 2019, Vietnam welcomed more than 18 million
international visitors and 85 million domestic visitors, total revenue
from tourists was estimated at 726,000 billion VND, an increase of
17.1% over the same period in 2018 (contributing 9.2% to GDP). But
since the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, tourism has almost “frozen”,
especially in 2021, domestic visitors only reached 40 million (down
1
The University of Finance and Business Administration.
TRAINING AND USING CULTURAL TOURISM HUMAN RESOURCES... 427
29% compared to 2020 and 53% compared to 2019), total revenue
from tourists is estimated at 180,000 billion VND, decreased 42%
compared to 2020 and down 76% compared to 2019. The estimated
GDP contribution of Tourism in 2021 is only 1.97%. When the COVID
pandemic happened, we saw that Vietnam’s tourism still has many
limitations: lack of new tourism products, lack of local regional links,
lack of digital transformation in tourism development...
Therefore, to adapt to new conditions, especially in the current
context of international economic integration, Vietnam’s tourism
industry, in addition to needing to invest in infrastructure, develop
tourism products and services. new, the question that needs to be
raised is how to train tourism human resources to meet both quantity
and quality, especially high-quality human resources in the context
of international economic integration and the industrial revolution
4.0 today.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODLOGY
2.1. Theoretical framework
2.1.1. Human Resources
When talking about human resources, there are many different
definitions. The two most popular definitions of human resources
used today are according to the United Nations and according to the
World Bank. According to the United Nations: “Human resources are the
skills, knowledge and abilities of existing or potential people for socio-economic
development in a community”. According to the World Bank: “Human
resources are all “human capital” including: physical strength, mental capacity,
professional skills... that each individual member possesses”.
So, in the most general sense, “human resources is a category that refers
to the potential strength of the population, the ability to mobilize people to
participate in the process of creating material and spiritual wealth for society
now and in the future”. (Tran Xuan Cau, 2014).
Human resource training “is understood as learning activities to help
employees perform learning activities to help employees perform more effectively
ĐÀO TẠO VÀ SỬ DỤNG NGUỒN NHÂN LỰC DU LỊCH VĂN HÓA TRONG BỐI CẢNH HỘI NHẬP QUỐC TẾ428
their functions and tasks. That is the learning process that makes workers more
knowledgeable about their work, and learning activities to improve workers’
qualifications and skills to perform labor tasks more effectively”. (Nguyen
Ngoc Quan & Nguyen Van Diem, 2022).
Thus, Human Resource Training is the process of preparing and
developing human resources in an organization or system with the
goal of providing them with the knowledge, skills, and experience
necessary to perform work effectively.
2.1.2. International integration
International integration is the process of linking and connecting
countries/territories together through participating in organizations,
institutions, mechanisms, and international cooperation activities for
the development goals of the each country/territory and to create
collective strength to solve common problems of mutual concern.
International integration in the full sense is integration in all different
areas of social life. In essence, international integration is a highly
developed form of international cooperation to achieve a common goal
or benefit.
2.2. Methods
Statistical table method: The statistical table used in this article plays an
important role in statistical analysis. The collected data is scientifically
arranged in a statistical table to compare, contrast, and analyze using
many different methods to evaluate the current status of tourism
human resources in the context of current international economic
integration as well as providing solutions to train Vietnam’s tourism
human resources in the period 2019 to 2024.
Comparison method: Used to compare indicators and quantified
economic phenomena with similar content and properties through
calculating indicators, comparing information from sources, comparing
according to time and space to make comments close to the actual
situation of the research problem.
TRAINING AND USING CULTURAL TOURISM HUMAN RESOURCES... 429
3. RESULT AND DISCUSSIONS
3.1. Results
3.1.1. Contribution of tourism industry to our country’s economy
Tourism is considered a key economic sector of Vietnam. According
to a report by the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, in 2019,
Vietnam welcomed more than 18 million international visitors and 85
million domestic visitors, total revenue from tourists was estimated
at 726.000 billion VND, an increase of 17,1% compared to the same
period in 2018 (contributing 9,2% to GDP). The COVID-19 pandemic
has seriously affected the tourism industry worldwide in general and
Vietnam in particular. When in 2020, tourism and travel businesses
suffered, many businesses stopped operating; hotels must close. The
stagnation of tourism activities has led to a loss of travel revenue;
Vietnam only welcomed 3,8 million international visitors. In 2020, it is
estimated to reach only 17.9 trillion VND, decreased 59,5% compared
to 2019. In 2021, tourism is almost “frozen”, domestic visitors only
reach 40 million (decreased 29% compared to 2020 and decreased
53% compared to 2019), total revenue from tourists is estimated at
180.000 billion VND, decreased 42% compared to 2020 and down 76%
compared to 2019. The estimated GDP contribution of Tourism in 2021
is only reached 1,97%.
Tourism only began to flourish again when the Government agreed
to reopen tourism activities under new normal conditions from March
15, 2022, along with launching the program “Safe Travel - Complete
Experience”, many localities across the country have implemented
stimulus programs, local tourism festivals, etc to help Vietnam’s
tourism gradually recover, become vibrant again, and open a period
of strong development during this period next time. This is shown
through the December 2023 report of the Vietnam National Tourism
Administration, in 2023, Vietnam welcomed 12,6 million international
visitors (exceeding 57% of the initial target and reaching the following
target adjusted to welcome from 12 to 13 million international visitors)
and 108,2 million domestic visitors (6% higher than the original target),
reaching a revenue of 678,3 trillion VND (4.3% higher compared to plan).
ĐÀO TẠO VÀ SỬ DỤNG NGUỒN NHÂN LỰC DU LỊCH VĂN HÓA TRONG BỐI CẢNH HỘI NHẬP QUỐC TẾ430
With the prosperity of tourism in 2023, it has contributed significantly
to the development of the service sector, tourism in particular and the
national economy in general, according to the report of the General
Statistics Office, in 2023 the trade and tourism activities maintain
high growth momentum, positively contributing to the growth of the
service sector. The added value of the service sector increased by 6,82%,
contributing 62,29% to the overall growth.
3.1.2. Human resources and tourism human resource training in the
context of Vietnam’s digital transformation
Quantity:
Table 1. Number of employees working in the accommodation and
food service sector period 2019 - 2023
Total (thousand people) Structure (%)
2019 2020 2021 2022 Preliminary
2023 2019 2020 2021 2022 Preliminary
2023
Accom-
modation
and food
services
2.739,4 2.737,8 2.493,4 2.685,0 2.926,3 5,0 5,1 5,1 5,3 5,7
(Source: General Statistics Office)
According to table 1, we see that the number of people working in
the accommodation and food service sector in 2019 reached more than
2.7 million people, decreasing in 2020 and 2021, because these 2 years
are the two years most heavily affected. of the COVID-19 epidemic,
so many workers moved to other industries. From 2022, the State
will reopen the tourism industry with many measures to stimulate
tourism demand, so the tourism industry has shown signs of recovery
and prosperity, attracting workers to work in the tourism sector
calendar. Therefore, the number of workers working in the tourism,
accommodation and food service industry will increase again when
there will be 2.685 thousand workers in 2022, and by 2023 it will reach
2.926,3 thousand people (surpassing 2019 - years before the COVID-19
pandemic occurred).