Major retail and hospitality campaigns are among some of the initiatives designed by the tourism industry to meet ambitious targets this year, according to Vu The Binh from the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism's Travel Department.

The sector hopes to receive 4.2 million international visitors in 2010, 400,000 more than the 2009 figure, even though Government assistance to the industry has been reduced.

"It means we will have to draw on a variety of resources and marketing tactics to pull it off, said Binh."

The industry has been digging deep for creative inspiration and the search appears to have born fruit. A new industry slogan "A friendly Viet Nam welcomes you" has been adopted and will be displayed at exit gates across the country's airports. Airline staff, customs officials and the public at large would be instructed to repeat the saying to foreign guests, Binh said.

The announcement of the new slogan follows the industry's earlier adoption of the year's tourism theme "A thousand years of Thang Long - Ha Noi."

"Persuading people to show hospitality, like smiling at visitors might be very tough. Especially since most people don't smile at strangers. But the sector will co-operate with the media to convince people to join the programme."

The new initiative was based on the results of a survey of tourists travelling in Viet Nam.

But Nguyen Minh Quang from the Ha Noi University of Education questioned the effectiveness of the initiative: "Based on my pedagogical experiences, I must say I am quite sceptical about this campaign because if a person is naturally friendly, he will continue to act like that whether he knows about the campaign or not but to others, forcing them to act against their nature does not seem practical to me."

But from Binh's perspective, the initiative's strength lay in its ability to exploit social networks and act as a valuable marketing tool: "Foreign tourists who come to Viet Nam are potential marketers. If they are satisfied with their experience, they will promote Viet Nam to their friends and relatives."

Overseas Vietnamese were also deemed valuable to the initiative. For instance, the Executive Committee of Overseas Vietnamese in France has recently pursued the administration's suggestion to run a campaign encouraging each person in the diaspora community to persuade 10 French friends to travel to Viet Nam.

The committee said the campaign was feasible.

Other activities planned under the initiative included a series of retail sales across the country organised by the tourism industry in concert with the Viet Nam Retailers Association.

"Integrating Vietnamese goods into tourism products is one of the most important policies we will implement in the upcoming years. And I think it will be more suitable to leave the choice of what goods to be promoted to retailers," Binh said.

When asked, Craig Soffer, an American expat based in Ha Noi, said: "I think a hospitality oriented campaign that works to get Viet Nam a new image regarding customer service and hospitality is a great idea."

"I've always felt that Vietnamese products in Viet Nam have been fairly priced, even if you do have to do a little haggling at the market," he added.

"Viet Nam still has a long way to go before it becomes a shopping destination like Singapore but in only six years I've seen the appearance of Parkson, Vincom Tower and many other interesting shops, so the growth is obvious and Viet Nam seems to be on the road."

The administration said it would rely on select agencies, transport companies and hotels – those able to capture the unique essence of Viet Nam – to implement the initiative.

Tourism to both Ha Hoi and HCM City increased remarkably during Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday compared to the same period last year.