A tourist attraction in HCM City has been closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: nld.com.vn)HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The HCM City Department of Tourism said it hassubmitted to the State Bank of Vietnam a list of 31 travel and tourism firmsthat are seeking help to make it through the disruption caused by the COVID-19pandemic.
They wantnew loans, cuts in their bank loan interest rates and more time forrepayment so that they could remain in business and keep their employees.
Thetourism industry is in urgent need of Government assistance to retain itsworkforce and recover as soon as the pandemic ends, Tran The Dung, deputydirector of Young Generation Travel, said.
Nguyen QuocKy, general director of Vietravel, said the industry, which has been accountingfor more than 10-11 percent of the city’s economy for the last few years, needsa relief package from the Government.
It is nowdifficult for travel firms to get loans from banks since most of them have noassets to mortgage, he said.
Nguyen ThiKhanh, deputy head of the city Tourism Association, said the pandemic hascrippled businesses and caused the loss of thousands of jobs.
Businessesfind it difficult to access aid packages from the Government and banks, shesaid.
In thefirst quarter, 90 percent of more than 1,000 small and medium-sized travelbusinesses in the city suspended operations as the coronavirus brought tourismto a standstill.
Businessesin the city project losses of trillions of VND in the secondquarter./.
VNA
