[Vnbiz] Nha Trang Bay

[Tran Dinh Hoanh]

Dear CACC,

I think the man issue in this case is "Can we develop the local (Nha Trang)
economy without commercializing natural scenery?

By "commercializing" I mean activities that take away its natural beauty,
such as intensive hotel, restaurant, bar, nigh club development, intensive
construction work, etc.  It seems some folks in Nha Trang are arguing that
preserving natural beauty is against development.

>From a business point of view, I have always thought that there are many
ways to make money--you can sell a can of Coca Cola for 5,000 dong or
100,000 dong.  It all depends on your marketing.  So why  would someone
think that you need to change the natural beauty to hotels, restaurants,
nigh clubs, etc. in order to make money?  Why can we think of a way to make
good money from natural beauty?

On long term strategy, my thinking is that it is very easy to build a
commercial development, even in the middle of no where.  Ex:  Las Vegas was
built in the middle of the desert.  But natural beauty is rare, and once you
lose it, you can't get it back.

By the law of economics, rare things are usually expensive.  So why would be
want to lose our natural beauty in exchange for something much more
ordinary?

Why wouldn't we be able to make very good money from a very rare and
precious thing--the natural beauty of our environment?

Have a great day!

Hoanh

On 5/30/07, Dyung Le <dyungle at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
> Dear CCCA,
>
> I don't think aggressive hawking is a characteristics only of BN. I
> remember
> being in Puerto Rico, visiting some historial sites. The layout was a
> narrow
> pathways in between 2 rows of stalls. The hawking was extremely
> aggressive,
> quasi intimidating. It left quite a bad taste in my mouth regarding my
> experience in Puerto Rico.
>
> Re the example given, I think people will hawk what they have to hawk. If
> they have sunglass, they'll try to sell sun glass. They don't have other
> stuff to sell so what can they do.
>
> I do remember visiting some ancient temples in China. When we arrived the
> sky was clear. When we left, it was raining. I was amazed that the bus
> stop
> litterally is sprouting with vendors of umbrella and raincoat. Those guys
> made a killing!
>
> I do aggree some tourism planning is needed. But I'm not sure how.
> Sometimes
> I do get bothered by agressive hawking, but then I realized that lots of
> these people make only 15,000 dong a day working 12-14 hours. So I stopped
> feeling so annoyed.
>
> Dyung Le
>
>
>
>
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: Hong-Phong_Pho at ita.doc.gov
> Reply-To: vnbiz at vietlinks.net
> To: vnbiz at vietlinks.net
> CC: vnbiz at vietlinks.net, vnbiz-bounces at mail.saigon.com
> Subject: Re: [Vnbiz] Nha Trang Bay
> Date: Wed, 30 May 2007 10:57:40 -0400
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
>
>
> Hi Shane,
> As it is with international trade -- which tourism is a part where the
> customers actually come to you -- Vietnam is on a learning curve without
> much appropriate help from the authorities.  In earlier days, Vietnamese
> trade delegations would bring to America samples of products that are not
> marketable here.  That doesn't happen much anymore.
> The local hawkers do not intend to pester the tourists.  They just don't
> realize/understand the negative consequence of their hard work.  The
> authorities' approach to hawkers appear to be binary; they are either
> banned altogether or allowed unfettered access to the tourists.  Central
> or local authorities can really help by educating the hawkers to provide
> more of what is needed and wanted by the tourists and less of pestering.
> The example with your relatives' experience is a good case in point, and
> it's not unique.  But they don't have a channel to give feed back to
> tourism authorities that are in a position to effect improvement.  Whether
> they will actually do it is a different issue.  A training session on how
> not to bother tourists and a suggested list of goods to sell, including
> sunscreen (though most tourists likely have their own) would be simple
> things the authorities can do that can help both the local hawkers to
> provide the appropriate services and the tourists to enjoy their
> experience.
> I hear that Hoi An did a good job in planning a tourism policy.  Others
> may benefit from their best practices.
> I remember the hawkers at Angkor Wat who always stopped once you've
> entered the perimeter of a ruin.  I appreciated the cold soda they offered
> me in the middle of a hot, sun drenched field and thought how I would have
> gladly paid more for it.
> Best,  HPP
>
>
>
>
> Shane Wall <shane.wall at translingualexpress.com>
> Sent by: vnbiz-bounces at mail.saigon.com
> 05/29/2007 06:00 PM
> Please respond to
> vnbiz at vietlinks.net
>
>
> To
> vnbiz at vietlinks.net
> cc
>
> Subject
> Re: [Vnbiz] Nha Trang Bay
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [ Vietnam Business Forum ]
>
> Dear CACC,
>    The bay in Nha Trang may be beautiful, and worthy of World Heritage
> listing ( I don't believe it is currently listed. Can anybody show me a
> verifiable source that lists Vinh Nha Trang on the World Heritage list?
> I challenge you all!), but that is not the point.
>
>    The underlying point is this: How much of Vietnam's unique cultural
> and physical attractions should be 'adulterated' or 'changed' to cater
> for foreign tourists?
>
>    My initial thinking is NONE! Leave the attractions alone, but get
> much, much better at making the SERVICES which operate in and around
> those attractions more attractive to repeat visitors. We all know that
> lots of foreigners love to come to Vietnam. However, very, very few of
> them come back for a second or third visit. Why?
>
>    According to my Mom and Aunty, who visited in April (Sai Gon, Tay
> Ninh, Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An, Pleiku, Vung Tau, Vinh Long - we got around
> a bit), they could not stand people pestering them at every turn. One of
> their overwhelming feelings and emotions about their Vietnam visit is
> that: "Vietnamese people just want to sell you s**t that you don't want
> or need. Why don't they understand that if I am wearing sunglasses, I
> don't need another pair. Why would he physically stop me and try to sell
> me something I obviously do not need?"
>
>    My feeble answer was "He's just trying to make a buck." My Mom wisely
> replied, "Well he would be much more successful if he tried to sell me
> something I need. Can't he see my skin is as red as a b****y lobster?
> I'd buy some soothing sun-screen lotion from him, but another pair of
> sunglasses? Forget. What a loser!" - On the beach at Vung Tau.
>
>    Sadly, what foreign tourists WANT for a repeat visit is not what they
> get in Vietnam yet. That is why they go back to Thailand, Malaysia,
> Singapore, the Philippines, etc. many times, but seem to visit Vietnam
> only once.
>
> My 1000VND worth!
>
> Shane
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Mr. Shane Wall
> Principal,
>
> Trans Lingual Express
> 120/14 Mai Thi Luu St,
> P. Dakao, Q.1, HCMC,
> Vietnam
>
> Mail: shane.wall at translingualexpress.com
> Web: www.translingualexpress.com
>
> Mbl: +84 (090) 9484 753 (Anh) - Tel: +84 (8) 820 9143 (Viet)
>
>
>
> --
> Tran Dinh Hoanh, LLB, JD
> Washington DC
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