The number of tourists arriving in Sam Son Beach on the occasion of Reunification Day (April 30) and Labour Day (May 1) have decreased due to concern over COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo baothanhhoa.vn)Quynhsaid she had booked a hotel for her family near Sam Son beach two weeksago but decided to postpone the trip.
“We decidedto stay at home on the holiday for my family’s safety,” she told Viet Nam News, adding that her motheris now 74 years old and vulnerable to COVID-19 infection.
Quynhwas among thousands of Vietnamese tourists who cancelled trips due to worriesabout new community infections.
NguyenGia Son, the owner of a hotel in Thanh Hoa City’s Le Van Huu Street, said70 percent of tourists cancelled their bookings. Many hotels in the city faceda similar situation, he said.
Accordingto Thanh Hoa Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as many as374,000 tourists visited the province during the four-day holiday, 22 percentbelow what had been expected. Many tours and bookings at tourist sites werecancelled due to concerns about COVID-19. The total revenue from tourism overthe weekend was estimated at 635.8 billion VND (27.5 million USD), adecline of 32.4 percent against the same period last year.
Hanoialso recorded a sharp decrease in the number of domestic tourists during theholiday.
Thecity's tourism sector had launched efforts to stimulate domestic travel inhopes of a holiday bump.
Manytourist accommodations in Hanoi slashed their prices and before the holiday,some resorts in suburban areas reported they were almost fully booked.
However,the resurgence of COVID-19 in the community had a severe impact on theindustry.
Statisticsfrom Hanoi’s Department of Tourism showed between 25-30 percent of pre-bookedrooms were cancelled.
Manytourist sites were forced to halt programmes and festivals which were setto attract a lot of people. The old village of Duong Lam postponed anexhibition of countryside markets while Bao Son Paradise Park postponed theOcean Festival.
Otherdestinations nationwide also witnessed a sharp decrease in tourist numbers.
InHai Phong City, the number of tourists who visited Cat Ba Islandand Do Son Beach fell substantially. Domestic tourists to Do Son Beachreached only 110,000 and 40 percent of customers cancelled their tours,according to the Do Son District People’s Committee.
Thecommittee said most tourist service establishments, local people and touristsbasically complied with the Ministry of Health’s guidance on COVID-19prevention and control.
DaNang, a tourist hotspot in central Vietnam, also saw tourism activitiesface difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thenumber of tourists who visited famous sites in the city including Linh UngPagoda and Love Bridge in Da Nang was well below expectations.
Earlier,Da Nang City’s Tourist Department said the total number of visitors to the citywas estimated to reach 130,000.
Inaddition to cancelling tours, a number of hotels in the city faced a situationwhere many people arrived in Da Nang but changed their plans and checked outearlier than expected.
TranVan Tu, the owner of a three-star hotel on Vo Nguyen Giap Street, saidearly check-outs due to fear of the disease had hit hard.
"Thecancellation of reservations and early check-outs seriously affected ourbusiness," he told Lao Dong (Labour)newspaper.
CaoTri Dung, Chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association, said about 20 percentof tourists cancelled their tours to the city, including large groups.
Inaddition, local authorities postponed several cultural and sportsprogrammes, including the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival, to ensuresafety./.
VNA
