Participants in the tourism conference in Nghe An province on December 25 (Photo: VNA)The hybrid event was attended by ViceChairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, officials of central agenciesand localities, along with representatives of the World Travel and TourismCouncil (WTTC), the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and hundreds ofexperts, enterprises, and organisations operating in the tourism sector.
NguyenDac Vinh, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for Cultural andEducation Affairs, said affected by COVID-19, Vietnam’s tourism has been facingunprecedented difficulties over the last nearly two years. As the pandemic isgradually being brought under control, the tourism sector and the economy as awhole are taking steps to surmount hardships, but the path to tourism recoveryand flexible and safe adaptation to the outbreak remains full of challenges.
Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Doan Van Viet noted Vietnamwelcomed just 3.7 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2020, dropping 80 percentyear on year, while the number of domestic visitors stood at 56 million, down34 percent, and tourism revenue also plunged 59 percent to 312.2 trillion VND (13.6billion USD).
This year, the fourth wave of infectionsnationwide led to a stagnation in socio-economic activities of many localities formonths. The country stayed closed to international tourists, and domestictravellers continued declining by almost 30 percent from the same period of2020.
Viet noted that to help the tourismindustry overcome the current trying time and resume development, theparliament and Government should promote the tourism recovery and developmentprogramme, which is part of the socio-economic recovery and developmentprogramme for 2022 - 2023; continue assisting businesses and workers in this sector;issue new mechanisms and policies facilitating tourism; boost the attraction ofinvestment to nighttime, ecological, leisure, and community-based tourism; stepup digital transformation in tourism; and make plans on developing tourismpersonnel in the new normal context./.
VNA
