Tens of thousands of foreign tourists visit Vietnam’s deltas, rivers and bays, French colonial landmarks, pagodas and temples, historical sites, quaint restaurants and cafes and bustling markets each day, as the socialist republic in the eastern side of the Indochina Peninsula has emerged with robust manufacturing and tourism industries from decades of war.
Supporting Vietnam’s thriving tourism industry are modern infrastructure and talented people from all over the world. One of them is a 42-year-old Filipino who now runs the most luxurious cruise and hotel company in the stunning Halong Bay, Vietnam’s most recognizable and visited tourist destination.
“Here in Vietnam, they recognize Filipino talents. We have Filipino professionals, teachers and engineers working in Hanoi and other parts of Vietnam,” says Edgar Cayanan, the general manager of Paradise Vietnam, which offers five-star accommodation, dining and cruises around Halong Bay.
Paradise Vietnam operates 11 vessels under the Paradise Cruises brand with an average of 31 rooms per vessel, and Paradise Suites Hotel, a boutique luxury hotel.
Paradise Cruises brings five-star accommodation between towering limestone islands surrounded by emerald waters in the middle of the 1,553-square-kilometer Halong Bay, a Unesco world heritage and natural wonder in Quang Ninh province.
Vietnam received a record 10 million foreign guests in 2016, exceeding the six million visitors in the Philippines in the same year. An influx of visitors from China and Asean countries including the Philippines boosted Vietnam tourism, as budget carriers like Cebu Pacific mounted flights to Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.
Cebu Pacific is increasing flights between Manila and Hanoi to daily services from Dec. 1, 2017 to Jan. 9, 2018 to accommodate the growing tourism traffic. Cayanan says Filipinos also visit and take the cruises at Halong Bay, which has more than 3,000 limestone karsts and isles topped by rainforests, outnumbering those than can be found in El Nido and Coron in Palawan.
Cayanan, who grew up in Pampanga and graduated from Angeles University Foundation in 1996, recruited other Filipinos to work for Paradise Cruises. Among them is Jade Karam, the cruise manager of Paradise Elegance II, the latest and most premium vessel of Paradise Cruises. Cayanan and Karam oversaw the development of Paradise Elegance II into a meticulously-designed boat, complete with premium facilities, air-conditioned cabins, private bathrooms, spacious dining and entertainment area and equipped with Internet and cable TV access that are usually found in five-star hotels.
Cayanan and Karam represent the increasing number of Filipinos who work in the hotel and cruise industry around the world. Cayanan worked as a food and beverage supervisor at Dusit Hotel Dubai from December 2000 to August 2002 and as an assistant F&B manager at Palau Royal Resort Nikko Hotel International between April 2005 and March 2010.
In Palau, a manager encouraged him to try working in Vietnam, which he did in April 2010 when he was recruited as operations manager and later as acting general manager of Bhaya Cruise. In 2012, he transferred to Paradise Cruises as a cruise manager. Seven months later, he became the operations manager who oversaw the expansion of the fleet from just two to seven.
His exceptional skills as a manager caught the attention of the shareholders of Paradise Vietnam, who offered him the top position as general manager. He initially hesitated to accept the job, knowing the big responsibility that came with the position.
In a party in December 2013, the shareholders formally announced Cayanan’s designation as a general manager and Cayanan had no choice but to rise to the occasion. He began serving as general manager in early 2014, making him the longest-serving head of a cruise company in Halong Bay today. He was also given an opportunity to become a shareholder.
Cayanan expects more Filipinos to work in Vietnam, as a group of students from Manila’s Centro Escolar University are now on a six-month on-the-job training in the country’s biggest luxury cruise company.
The Vietnamese shareholders of Paradise Cruises hold Filipinos in high regard, because of the Filipinos’ skills, perseverance and ability to communicate in English, which is the common language of foreign tourists. Cayanan also recruited talented singers and musicians from Davao City.
“Our Vietnamese owners always think that Filipinos are very good in English and are hardworking, so they asked me to hire others who can help me in the operation of the company,” says Cayanan who now oversees 11 vessels and two hotels.
Paradise Cruises now have more than 750 employees including 21 Filipinos mostly in management and operation. Its vessels accommodate as many as 90,000 passengers a year, mostly from Europe and Asia.
Filipinos also work in other tourism establishments in Hanoi, including the modern Noi Bai International Airport which reflects the Vietnam government’s resolve to strengthen the tourism industry.
In 2015, Paradise Cruises opened an internship program for foreign students. “If they work hard enough, we offer them full-time jobs,” says Cayanan. “We plan to hire more Filipinos, with starting net monthly salary of $800, which could rise to $1,000 after two months. After a year, they can get free airplane tickets. They can also bring their family to stay at our hotel for free.”
“Vietnam is just three hours by plane from the Philippines. This is a beautiful, affordable and safe country. Banks here have no armed security guards. Prices of goods are also cheap,” says Cayanan.
Cayanan says he even encourages his son who is studying Hotel and Restaurant Management in the Philippines to join him and work for Paradise Vietnam soon.
