On May 16th 2013, a three-day training course on Tourist Information Centre (TIC) operations took place in Hoi An; a joint collaboration between the European Union-funded ESRT Programme, UNESCO and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Quang Nam.

Twenty participants (mostly women) took part in the course which trained them in Tourist Information Centre (TIC) operation standards covering all aspects of good practice including meeting legal requirements, design elements, management, customer service, communications, marketing, financing, and building partnerships. Armed with the newly acquired skills and knowledge, the participants are now better prepared to operate the newly refurbished Hoi An TIC, which, has recently been reinvigorated with creative installations by local craft artisans, the installation of Wi-Fi access, and a chill out area for visitors.

TICs play an important role in promoting visitation to tourism destinations and are integral in creating a positive travel experience for visitors through the provision of friendly and professional customer service and useful travel information. TICs also play an increasingly important role in supporting the development of local communities by strategically promoting tourism and displaying or selling locally made products and services.

However, with TICs in Vietnam being few and far between and with varying levels of quality, it is clear that there is still a long way to go before Vietnam has a strong, co-ordinated and effective network of TICs that provide visitors with a warm welcome and the information and assistance they need in order to have a pleasant experience in Vietnam.

“By implementing this initiative of the ESRT in collaboration with UNESCO, we strongly believe that the sustainability and the effectiveness of TICs in Vietnam shall be strengthened”, said Kai Partale, ESRT’s Responsible Tourism Expert.

The pilot Hoi An TIC training course shall later be applied to other TICs in Ha Long Bay as well as in national parks like Dong Van and Phong Nha - Ke Bang, to name a few.

Hoi An Tourist Information Centre gets a facelift

The Tourist Information Centre (TIC) in Hoi An got an innovative facelift and is now re-opened and ready for business, after operating for several years purely selling tickets to Hoi An’s many heritage attractions.

The ESRT Programme in partnership with UNESCO, has however worked to ensure that the renovation extends beyond just a physical facelift by including support to develop the on-going management and service of the centre through an intensive training programme on tourist information centre service quality with the staff and local community.

The training is also able to further draw upon the support of the ILO Inland Tourism project to showcase Responsible Tourism products in the center with both tourists and hosts in mind.

Often the first encounter a visitor will have with a site is through the information centre, where visitors will form initial impressions. Therefore, it’s important to see a centre as more than a ticket office but as an educational facility that could also create significant social benefits. Promoting Responsible Tourism products with the help of a TIC shows a destination’s commitment to sustainability and helping distinguish (brand) the destination as a “good” place to visit.

The goal of the Hoi An TIC renovation and community partnership is not only to improve the Hoi An visitors’ experience but also to build a tangible example which can be replicated to other destinations in Vietnam to inform them on how culturally appropriate and cost-effective planning, interpretation and management can encourage tourists to stay longer, spend more money locally, experience more attractions and revisit the region.