HCM City (VNA) – Designing tours to safe places which have yetbeen hit by the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirusSARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is among the choices most selected by travel agencies inHo Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta at this time.
The epidemic, whichhit 54 nations and territories as of 6:30am of February 28, has seriouslyaffected the tourism sector in Vietnam in general and in the south inparticular.
Deputy Director of theTourism Department of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said that revenues ofseveral big travel agents in the city in February decreased by 40-60 percent.The number of tourists going to the city by air in the month was down 28.3percent compared to January and nearly 23 percent year-on-year.
The number of touriststo other southern localities, including Can Tho city and Ben Tre province, alsofell significantly.
To make tourists feelsecured, travel agents in the southern region have strictly complied withauthorities’ recommendations about disease prevention measures.
In addition, they havesought measures to change and improve the quality of tourism products andservices, and implement attractive tourism promotion programmes.
The Saigon TravelService Company (Saigontourist) has offered discounts of 10-60 percent for itsdesigned tours.
Travel agents havealso paid attention to ecotourism and community-based tourism to attract morevisitors./.