Tiếng anh du lịch Marketing plan for Hanoi food tour ẩm thực phố cổ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
University of Languages and International Studies

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ENGLISH FOR TOURISM
FINAL ASSIGNMENT
HANOI OLD QUARTER STREET FOOD TOUR -MARKETING PLAN

Ha Noi – 2019


Table of Contents
I.

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................3

II.

MARKETING OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................3

III. SITUATION ANALYZING (SWOT ANALYZING)............................................................4
IV. TARGET MARKETS........................................................................................................15
V. STRATEGIES....................................................................................................................17
1. Product:........................................................................................................................................17
2. Promotion:....................................................................................................................................17
3. Price:............................................................................................................................................20
4. Place:............................................................................................................................................24

VI. TRACKING AND EVALUATION....................................................................................24
1.

Tracking:..................................................................................................................................24

2.

Evaluation:...............................................................................................................................25


I.

INTRODUCTION

Hanoi Street Food Tour was created on April 2019 to provide cuisine adventure travel
packages with accommodations, street food, local history and culture to clients.
An opportunity exists for several reasons that we have mentioned in the SWOT part.
Virtually all companies that provide street food tour activities appeal to a lower income
client. Companies that appeal to a wealthier clientele generally provide gourmet food or luxury
restaurants package. Street food tour involve more local stories and experiences. It carries a
higher level of knowledge about a culture than a normal luxury cuisine tour.
The company's target customers are average to high income and interested in exploring
street food, history and culture of Hanoi Old Quarter. There is rapid growth in the market and
increasing demand. In addition, more niche markets are evolving. Initially, it will be difficult to
compete with experienced providers, especially the market leaders. However, our target market
is an exploitable niche and our service is differentiated. Our target market members will have
similar activity interests, more disposable income and less sensitivity to price.
We will provide a high-quality service with affordable price and prestige value. Our prices
will be in reach for the majority of travelers. Service will be priced based upon other competitor
prices and the value added of our offering. We are competitively priced in the luxury market.
Because we appeal to high market and thus a smaller market, volume will be limited. However,
we will be able to capture a higher gross profit margin.

II.

MARKETING OBJECTIVES

-

Maintain positive, steady growth each quarter.

-

Experience a growth in new customers who are turned into long-term customers.

-

To be recognized as the premier high-end Hanoi Old Quarter street food trip provider

III. SITUATION ANALYZING (SWOT ANALYZING)
1. Strengths
a. Cuisine
- Hanoi Old Quarter cuisine is very diverse.
It has the appearance of sweet, sour dish and drink. Some delicious dishes here are egg
coffee, Hanoi grilled fish, Hanoi dried beef salad, draft beer, Hanoi roll cake, Obama dish and so
on.

Picture 1. Pho Hanoi


Picture 2. Cha ca La Vong (Hanoi grilled fish)

Many
dishes

have

been

Picture 4. Egg coffee

popular and famous to the foreigners.

Picture 3. Bun cha


Hanoi cuisine has been honored by many prestigious domestic and international
organizations such as the Asian Record Organization; Lonely Planet travel magazine which
ranks Hanoi's food street in the top 10 of the world's most attractive food tourism destinations;
Vietnam Record Council which records some Hanoi dishes and fruits (La Vong fish roll, rolls of
Thanh Tri, Huong Son dream, Canh orange, and Com Than rice cake, O mai Hang Duong) in
the Journey Top Vietnamese specialties for the first time - 2012
- The dishes have a long history of development, bearing a strong cultural identity.
Many stores are passed down from generations, so the food has a history of decades. Behind
each dish, each recipe is a meaningful story, the hardship of the subsidy period to the era of
modern innovation - this is the highlight of this tour. Because tourists will quickly feel bored if
they just only enjoy the food. When food tourism is mixed with cultural and historical tourism,
they will be interested.
Regarding pho – the national dish of Vietnam, there are many theories about the origin of it.
Some people say that it is brought to the South of Vietnam by French; some indicate that it is
created by the Northern people with the beginning in Hanoi. But one of the most famous theory

is that pho is a Vietnamese adaptation of the French pot au feu, originating from the North.
“Hanoi has always been the center of political power in colonial Vietnam, with only a few
short interruptions. The city has always been the seat of Vietnamese kings and emperors since
1010, except during the rule of the Nguyen dynasty, when the capital was moved to Hue. When
the French conquered Vietnam and established the colony, they called the French Indochina,
they made Hanoi their capital city.


The French brought pot au feu to Vietnam and introduced the idea of slaughtering cows for
food to the Vietnamese of the north. The northern regions of Vietnam are not as rich as those in
the south, and food scarcity may have been a way of life in a northern Vietnamese household.
The northern Vietnamese get their food where they can find it, and they learned to take the beef
parts and bones that their French conquerors did not want for their table. It is widely believed
that this is how pho of the north, called pho bac, came to be. Even today, Northern Vietnamese
and pho purists consider pho bac the true pho.”
- Many dishes reach the excellent balance of ingredient, then they are good for health,
having a unique character. Besides, Hanoi weather has 4 seasons and each season has its typical
food.
Hanoi is known as the home of the best cuisine of the Red River Delta. Many dishes that
originated in the surrounding areas, imported and gradually changed in the style of gourmet,
exquisite cuisine of Ha Thanh people but into "delicious pieces of Hanoi". Each dish has its own
flavor and beauty, depending on the season of the year.
b. Stores system
- There are restaurants in every corner of Hanoi Old Quarter. Their types are very varied
with luxury restaurants, street shops (such as Ta Hien street). Thanks to this factor, the manager
can build many types of tour satisfying the various requirements of tourists.

Picture 5. Ta Hien street at night

- The waiters and sellers are always friendly (vendor stores), well-trained (luxury
restaurants). Local people - Hanoians - are said to be friendly and hospitable. Tourists can feel
the warm welcoming of local people when set foot in a restaurants or local stores.
- Many stores have conditions to build cooking classes, creating opportunities for tourists to
experience.
c. Other factors
- There are many nearby tourist destinations to create a comprehensive tour. Hanoi is
actually over 1000 years old so the wealth of history here is mind-boggling: temples, ancient
citadels, unique theatre, and stunning wilderness just outside the city all offer fun-filled days in
Vietnam’s capital.

Picture
Picture
6. 7.
Ngoc
The Son
Old Temple
Street

Picture
Picture8.9.Hoan
The Big
Kiem
Church
lake


- The transport system is convenient for moving. The quality of roads is being improved
with a variety of vehicles such as motorbike, rickshaw, electric car and bus. These means of
transport are mostly managed by companies, hence the tour agencies can rent them in order to

serve the tourists stably. Furthermore, the price for each kind of vehicle is different so they can
fit with tourists’ financial condition. Rickshaw and electric car are ideal means of transport for
tourist to go around and learn about Hanoians’ life.
- The weather is usually nice and stable. Hanoi is in the north of Vietnam with the climate is
divided into 4 distinct seasons per year; therefore, tourists will be able to choose the appropriate
weather. The weather of each season is not too harsh, the temperature amplitude between
seasons is not too large, so tourists will not feel too difficult to adapt.

Picture 10. Different scenery of Hanoi in 4 seasons


- Besides, Hanoi is the location of a lot of universities and colleges, with a huge number of
excellent language skills students who can act as a part-time tour guide.
2. Weakness
- There is no agency managing the street store system, especially the vendor, then it is
difficult to link them together, creating a long-term stability for developing food tours.
- The food is too familiar, so if other accompanying services is not developed, eating and
drinking only will be boring and not create attraction of the tour in the long run.
- The costs are likely to be expensive. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, a densely populated
area, so the price of goods in here is more expensive than the surrounding areas. Especially for
tourists, many restaurants and services have the phenomenon of raising the price many times
higher.
- At peak hours, Hanoi is often suffered from traffic jams, especially in the old quarter. This
makes tourists find annoyed while visiting Hanoi attractions and enjoying street food.

Picture 11. Traffic jam in Hanoi


3. Opportunities
- Hanoi is one of ideal cities for international events which draw attention of numerous

tourists to Hanoi and arouse curiosity of people who had never been to Hanoi before. Recently,
DPRK-USA Hanoi summit, which was held on February 2019, attracted a lot of attention from
the media. About 3000 foreign correspondents went to Hanoi in this summit and they were
really impressed when they had chance to try local dishes such as pho, bun thang, egg coffee,...
as well as being welcomed warmly and friendly.

Picture 12. DPRK-USA Hanoi summit


- The facilities for the tourism industry are constantly invested in Hanoi, especially the
system of hotels, restaurants, high-class accommodation facilities, traditional and modern
cultural and artistic works, big theaters and museums …

Picture 13. Hotel Metropole Hanoi
- Hanoi has always been voted as the top attractive destination by tourists and readers of
prestigious travel magazines in Asia and one of 10 emerging tourist destinations in the world.
These evaluations once again affirm that Hanoi is a safe, friendly, and attractive city.
- The Vietnamese cuisine was recognized by many celebrated chefs such as Gordon Ramsay
and Anthony Bourdain. Thanks to the reality shows of these talented chefs, foreigners will find
it worthy of visiting Hanoi as they see the charm of Vietnamese dishes.


Picture 14. Chef Anthony Bourdain in Vietnam
4. Threats
- Hanoi only focuses on exploitation based on the available natural elements, has not
invested much, and has not been chained into attractive tours that can help tourists stay longer.
- On the other hand, Hanoi has not really built a friendly tourism environment, while there
are still environmental phenomena. Waste treatment and plastic bag use, disposable plastic
products are taking place very often, especially in food consumption. International visitors those who are aware of the dangers of the above problem may turn away, not choosing Hanoi as
the destination.

Picture 15. Waste is thrown indiscriminately on the road
- Urbanization is developing in Hanoi, so there is a threat of losing its ancient features.
Vietnam has excellent resources, excellent location but the infrastructure does not meet the
demand. Tourism strategies should not place the number of visitors as growth targets but should
emphasize quality, how to increase the contribution rate to GDP, combining tourism with
environmental protection and management.
- Food hygiene issues in Hanoi are difficult to be guaranteed. With a large population, the
majority of residential land, the area of land for cultivation and husbandry is not much, so most
of the food used in the city is imported from other places. With the current limited market
management force, it is extremely difficult to regularly check, inspect restaurants, consider the
food they use to ensure food hygiene.


Picture 16. Food hygiene problem
IV. TARGET MARKETS
The concept of target markets is one of the most basic, yet most important aspects of
marketing. There is no such thing as the “general public”. It is unrealistic to think that you can
attract everyone. This tour target consumers are identified by four factors.

Nationality

Travel
Target
experience

consumers

Age

Income

The first factor is nationality. We want to focus on foreigners, mostly Westerners. Because
of the differences in processing, combining ingredients, eating and traditional elements, the


stories behind each dish will be an extremely attractive factor to them. In particular, our tour is
also combined with visiting some cultural relics, so the opposition and novelty are also created.
The next factor is age. The age range of tourists is from 18 to 30 years old. This is the most
suitable age for this kind of tour, because these ages are likely to go far and explore while the
older want to be rest with ecotourism or culture tourism and the younger will go with their
parents. They also and average income.
The third factor is income. The tourists should have average income to join in our tour. The
cost for our tour is nearly one and a half million Vietnam dong (about seventy dollars), but the
plane ticket is not included. Since they come from the West, the ticket to travel to Vietnam is
quite high, so they should have average income to afford.
Last but not least, travel experience is the final factor. Our main customers probably should
have travelled to Vietnam only one or two times, because Hanoi is a familiar place when tourists
come to Vietnam. Vietnamese foods in each region have difference taste, such as the Northern
cuisine is mild, a bit spicy and colorful while the food in the Central Vietnam tend to be sweet
and spicy and the Southern people keen on sour flavour; but in general, they are cooked in the
same basic processing. Therefore, if tourists had come to Vietnam a few times before, they
would not interest in the tour.
Our tour is provided for five to six tourists per tour. It means that tourists can either walk
alone or go with their family members. In case they come alone, we will group tourists together
based on common points from personal information that customers provide when registering
tours such as nationality, interests.

V. STRATEGIES
1. Product:
The product is the street food of Hanoi and the related activity – attending a cooking class.
The aim of this tour is to help tourists discover the traditional Vietnamese cuisine through
specialties such as phở, bún chả, chả cá, etc. The high light of this tour is the cooking class.
Customers will have the opportunity to try the most famous dishes in the most well-known local
restaurants. In addition, the cooking class will provide customers with a detailed understanding
of making a Vietnamese dish. They will go to the local market to buy the fresh ingredients and
learn how to cook them properly. At the end of the lesson, foreigners can cook the dish on their
own.
2. Promotion:
II.1.

Take Advantage of Social Media: Using social media to market your food tour has

many benefits:
-

Social media is free: Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are free to

download and use.


Picture 17. Facebook
-

Social media is popular: There are 1.76 billion active users on Facebook, 317 million

active users on Twitter, and 500 million active users on Instagram.
-

Social media is visual: There is nothing like a mouth-watering photo of a meal to get

people in the mood to go eat.
-

Action Step: Create a Facebook page, Instagram account, and Twitter account for

your food tour business. Also take the time to visit restaurants and take high-quality pictures of
the food on your tour.
II.2.

Publish Dynamic Content:

- Dynamic content refers to content that is meaningful and provides value to the readers.
- Publish articles about your food tour that are relevant and knowledgeable. This is a great
way to keep readers engaged, increase traffic to your site, and increase your credibility as a
company.


- Action Step: Research and truly try to understand your food tour niche so that you can
write dynamic content.
2.3. Get Familiar With SEO
- SEO = search engine optimization. This is the key to having high ranking articles on
search engines such as Google. Make sure to mention the, country, city, neighborhood, and zip
code in your article to make finding your food tour easy.
- Action Step: Use tools like Google AdWords to find out the keywords that you should be
using in your articles.

Picture 18. Google AdWords

2.4. Try Promotional Activities Contests:


- Contests are a great way to get your audience engaged with your food tour business.
- Action Step: Create a contest on Instagram that requires your followers to take a photo of
their favorite restaurants. The best photo wins a free food tour.
- Giveaways: Giveaways are a great way to show your audience that you care about them.
It’s also a great way to get people talking about your food tour business
- Action Step: Giveaway a free food tour to someone who gets the most likes or shares on
Facebook of your contest.
2.5. Create and Attend Relevant Events:
- Creating or attending events is a great way to spread the word about your business. Get
creative with your own events and attend all the relevant events in your neighborhood.
- Action Step: Attend hot, new restaurant openings and/or create your own workshops on
food tasting, cooking, or other subjects of culinary interest.
3. Price:
95 dollars/pax
Including:
-

1 night in Hanoi Hotel (3-star quality)


Picture 19. Hanoi Hotel
-

Transportation (16-seat bus)

Picture 20. 16-seat bus

-

Meals (2 breakfasts, 2 lunch, 1 dinner)

Picture 21. Vietnamese breakfast
-

English speaking tour guide

-

Tickets to destinations (Ngoc Son Temple)


Picture 22. Ticket to Ngoc Son Temple
-

Street food: pho, bun cha, cha ca, che, …

Picture 23. Pho


*Note: Airline ticket is not included.
4. Place:
Hanoi capital is entering a period of development and innovation. All social activities follow
the economic axis. However, Hanoi today is the embodiment of thousands of years of culture, of
cultural identity, symbol, and quintessence of the country. The potential of Hanoi is abundant
and, in the tour, foreign customers will have the chance to learn more about the Vietnamese
cuisine, to learn how to cook a truly Vietnamese dish and to have opportunity of visiting a

famous historical destination in the centre of Hanoi. Some customers may find this tour
unfamiliar and perhaps the brand is not yet popular, therefore, the tour will be distributed as
follow: Clients can book the information of this tour in some well-known travel agencies in
Hanoi. Customers can visit the websites of these agencies to look up the necessary information
such as duration of the tour, schedule and price.
VI. TRACKING AND EVALUATION
1.

Tracking:

The more modern the world becomes; the more methods can be applied to promote the tour.
There exist a huge number of means to draw customers’ attention to the Hanoi food tour as
follow:


TV advertisements: This method can approach almost all people from walks of life as

almost house-hold watch TV everyday. However, this method is costly and it requires an
attractive video with short duration.


Internet marketing: The tour can be introduced by using Google Ads or social

networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter… This metod is well advised as there are more and


more people using Internet to look up the information and it is much cheaper than advertising on
TV. To catch customers’ attention, the company will need attractive content – articles, videos,
feedback of experienced customers to post on the Internet.


Promotion: Promotion is a good way to attract customers, especially new customers.

Clients will find it cheaper to experience the tour with their friends and family. In this tour, we
offer customers 5% discount for couples and 10% discount for a 4 member-family.
2.

Evaluation:
The creation of any marketing strategy should begin with market research. The research

and data are everything. The more knowledge of customers, the better it is in achieving the
marketing objectives.
In the marketing plan, the major problem is the way of approaching the clients. There are,
indeed, lots of ways of accessing the information but what is the best way to draw customers’
attetion? The objective customers are Westeners, who are extremely curious about oriental
cuisine. Therefore, in the advertising plan, it is neccessary to high light the differences and the
contrast between the West and the East. As a result, potential customers will find it worth
spending money on this tour.