Saigon Phu Quoc Resort and Spa is being refurbished to welcome back tourists. (Photo:VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is looking forward to quickly resume operations of the tourism industry which was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung has said.
Speaking at a recent online forum on the impacts of COVID-19, he said the ministry would soon submit a tourism planning scheme to relevant authorities for approval, adding that the planning scheme is a task and also a solution of the tourism industry.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) was asked to work with localities to upgrade tourism products with the goal that each province and city have a unique one as well as connecting tourism products to create highlights for traveling activities, Hung said.
The minister requested the VNAT to quickly put into operation a website that the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board had done before. Localities were directed to digitalise destinations and put them on cyberspace.
It was necessary for localities that COVID-19 have been put under control, connect with tourism associations and businesses to organise promotion and investment forums and conferences to revive tourism, he said.
Hung emphasised the need to focus on the domestic market and then on the international market when conditions allow. He also underscored the importance of quickly utilising the development assistance fund to increase resources for tourism promotion to enhance its efficiency.
Golden Bridge - a tourist attraction in Da Nang city (Photo: VNA)VNAT General Director Nguyen Trung Khanh said, to prepare for the recovery of tourism activities in the new context, the MCST has issued a plan, focusing on six key tasks and solutions, including strengthening communications activities and promotion of tourism.
The communications and promotion would contribute to ensuring the successful implementation of the pilot plan to welcome back international visitors to Kien Giang province’s Phu Quoc island city, he said.
The industry would prepare to gradually expand to other destinations throughout the country, continuing to deploy communications activities and stimulate tourism demand based on inheriting the "Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam" and “Vietnam tourism - a safe and attractive destination” programmes.
The VNAT suggested that the Government have a separate policy on COVID-19 vaccination for some key tourist centres, creating a safe environment so that domestic tourism can be restored and attract international tourists to Vietnam.
In 2020, the international tourism industry was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, witnessing a sharp decrease of 73 percent in the number of international tourists worldwide, according to the World Conference on Tourism Cooperation and Development held in Beijing.
According to a report by the MCST, the number of tourists has been decreased sharply due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the number of international visitors to Vietnam declined by 80 percent compared to 2019’s figure while the number of domestic tourists fell by 34 percent. The gross revenue of tourism decreased by 59 percent in the period.
In the first eight months of this year, the number of domestic visitors reached 31.2 million, falling by 5.5 percent year-on-year. The gross revenue of domestic tourism hit 136.52 trillion VND (6 billion USD)./.
