President and CEO of Marriott International Inc. Anthony Capuano

In your recent conversation with the Vietnamese prime minister, you proposed the group's investment commitments in Vietnam. Could you tell us more?

I am impressed by the prime minister's knowledge of the Marriott and our investment activities in Vietnam.

Marriott commits to continue expanding investment and having long-term development in Vietnam. We are conveying the story and promoting Vietnam's images to the world, promoting the tourism industry and recruiting high-quality Vietnamese human resources in our hotel system and actively deploying social security activities in Vietnam.

Currently, Marriott manages 19 hotels in Vietnam out of a total of 8,600 hotels globally. This is quite a small number. However, this number has doubled from the beginning of 2022 until now. Recently, we have just signed three new projects and are on track to increase the total number of new hotels managed by Marriott in Vietnam to 50 in the near future.

Marriott has just announced three new projects, including the first appearance of two super luxury brands, Ritz-Carlton Reserve and The Luxury Collection, in Vietnam. Why did Marriott bring these to Vietnam?

Currently, Marriott has the largest portfolio of luxury hotels in the world, including in the Asia-Pacific region (outside of China) with a portfolio of 120 luxury hotels and resorts.

We have more than 30 locations in The Luxury Collection Brand in many countries in Asia, but the Ritz-Carlton Reserve brand has less than 10 hotels worldwide.

In Asia, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve is present in Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, China and Vietnam. Marriott invests in this brand in Asia including Vietnam, this shows the importance of the Vietnamese market in Marriott's development strategy.

What are the challenges for Marriott in Vietnam, and what suggestions do you have for the government to help you overcome these?

I have proposed to the prime minister two solutions, building good partnerships with airlines to increase the number of flights, seats, tickets and opening more flights to Vietnam, especially for top favoured destinations, such as Phu Quoc.

Vietnam has done an impressive job of relaxing visa policies, but it needs to be further promoted and expanded in the future.

Marriott continues to promote Vietnam as an attractive destination with many interesting experiences to 190 million loyal members of Marriott Bonvoy. For example, currently, many Indians have travelled to Vietnam for tourism or organising important events.

Marriott is committed to supporting the training and use of high-quality Vietnamese human resources. Could you share details about this plan?

We are committed to creating career opportunities for Vietnamese people. To date, Marriott has hired about 7,000 employees for its Marriott system in Vietnam.

To serve our projects being implemented in the future, we expect to open up 15,000 more job opportunities for Vietnamese citizens. Marriott has recently appointed its first Vietnamese general director in the system.

Our philosophy is that in addition to creating jobs, we need to create sustainable career advancement for local members.

In addition, Marriott has built close training cooperation relationships with more than 50 universities, colleges, and vocational schools nationwide.

Vietnam has high potential in the agricultural and culinary sectors, as you are recognised around the world. Do you plan to implement those activities in your projects in Vietnam and on a global scale?

Food is an indispensable field in the resort tourism industry. The good news is that our partners have cooperated to award Michelin stars to Vietnamese local dishes and cuisine.

Marriott will continue to work with partners to further promote the local culinary reputation and integrate Vietnamese dishes and cuisine into the Marriott hotel system.

Vietnamese Culinary has a very special reputation, and I am also a fan of Vietnamese cuisine. We also create conditions for Vietnamese chefs to participate in introducing local cuisine in Marriott restaurants, hotels and resorts in the region and around the world as well as bringing chefs as ambassadors of other countries to hotels and resorts in Vietnam to increase the service experience for our customers.

Ritz-Carlton Reserve on Hon Thom Island