Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The number of international tourists visiting the northernborder province of Lao Cai has dropped significantly due to the novelcoronavirus (nCoV).
Accordingto the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the localitywelcomed about 98,000 visitors during the seven-day Lunar New Year (Tet)holiday, a drop of 8.4 percent year-on-year.
Ofthe total, 11,000 were foreigners, down 52.4 percent compared to the sameperiod last year. The number of Chinese holidaymakers stood at only 2,000, downmore than 80 percent year-on-year.
Theprovincial Party Committee, People’s Council and Department of Culture, Sportsand Tourism have been coordinating closely with departments and agencies toprevent the spread of the disease.
Thelocality has also been monitoring the exit and entry of foreigners andVietnamese nationals at international border gates.
Meanwhile,the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau lured nearly 148,000 tourists during theholiday, including 745 foreigners, who mainly flocked to Dat Mui, Khai Long andHon Da Bac tourism areas, and the site dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh.
Directorof the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Hieu Hung saidthe locality will continue to optimise its potential and advantages to developtourism sustainably in 2020./.
VNA
