According to the Ministry of Trade, if service exporters continue with their fine performance and the Government keeps its support for the service export, this sector will remain with current optimistic growth rate. As estimated by the Ministry, service exports will growth by 16.3% per annual on the average and total $12 billion by the year of 2010. Major industries in this sector will be tourism, labour export, sea transport, and aviation.
However, service export requires long-term investment. The Ministry of Trade emphasizes that in the next 5 years, Vietnam needs to focus on tourism, labour export and software sourcing. The tourism industry aims to receive 6 million foreign tourists in 2010. The labour export industry plans to send 70,000 – 80,000 workers overseas in the 2006 – 2010 periods. In addition to traditional markets like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, etc, labour export companies are seeking for new markets like the US, Canada, Italy, Australia, Middle East, Northern Africa, etc. Vietnam is currently considered as the 25 most attractive software sourcing market in the world. Though growth rate of this industry in Vietnam in the past years was not as expected but it is still seen as a key service export industry. As projected, this industry will earn $300 – 400 million from exports in 2010.
In addition to developing export markets, the Ministry of Trade also requires businesses and relevant agencies to develop domestic infrastructures for the service sector. With good facilities, the tourism industry will be able to earn over $1.2 billion from foreign tourist spending by the year of 2010.
Moreover, in parallel with quick growth of foreign direct investment, related services like consultancy, industrial and processing park services will develop quickly. If on-the-spot export is done well, Vietnam will earn as much as $1.5 – 1.7 billion by 2010. The Ministry of Trade also emphasizes the need for improvement of human resource training and IT and other high technology application.

Source: VNECONOMY, 9/3/2006