Hanoi’s tourism sector moves to adapt to new context

The fourth wave of COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on tourism in Vietnam, including Hanoi, but it has also opened up opportunities to restructure this industry, change approaches to the market, and align products to travellers’ demand and the reality, according to insiders.
Hanoi’s tourism sector moves to adapt to new context ảnh 1A view of Hoan Kiem Lake, a popular destination in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The fourth wave of COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on tourism in Vietnam, including Hanoi, but it has also opened up opportunities to restructure this industry, change approaches to the market, and align products to travellers’ demand and the reality, according to insiders.

In the capital city, the pandemic has forced up to 95 percent of travel businesses and agencies to shut down or suspend operations, 1,550 accommodation establishments to halt activities or shift to other sectors, and about 11,600 workers to take a furlough or terminate their labour contracts. Meanwhile, all tourist destinations had to close, and more than 90 percent of the transport fleet stopped working.

Some enterprises have sought new ways to survive the situation such as providing charter flight and counseling services, many have even shifted their business lines.

As relic sites, scenic landscapes, museums, and other destinations in Hanoi shut down their door to tourists, a number of those places have applied new technologies like the 3D virtual reality, organised digital exhibitions, and created audio files and video clips to attract viewers.

Tourism authorities are working to encourage Hanoians to visit local places of interest, and travel firms also view this as an appropriate measure as the capital city have yet to reopen to tourists from other localities.

Positive signs have been seen in the COVID-19 fight in Hanoi and Vietnam as a whole. Many provinces and cities have been gradually relaxing or lifting social distancing.

Given this, businesses in the tourism industry are expecting to resume activities and serve travellers as soon as possible.

Hanoi’s tourism sector moves to adapt to new context ảnh 2Part of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, a world heritage site in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

Phung Quang Thang, Chairman of the Hanoi Travel Agents’ Association, said that in the current context, domestic tourism is still the “lifebuoy” for enterprises when the time for reopening to international visitors remains unclear. They have no other choices but to develop safe and “sandbox” travel programmes.

He held that to organise safe tourism, it is necessary to involve different agencies and sectors, apart from efforts by the tourism sector.

Nguyen Thi Huyen, CEO of the Vietrantour travel company, said localities should assist businesses to select outstanding and safe destinations to attract tourists, carry out pandemic safety measures at those places, and boost tourism promotion.

Preparing for tourism resumption but still ensuring safety for the local community, visitors, and travel service suppliers is the top priority of Hanoi’s tourism sector at present. The city is making a plan on tourism recovery and development from now to the year’s end, with the COVID-19 safety taken into account.

Director of the municipal Tourism Department Dang Huong Giang said her department has proposed four stages of tourism reopening on the basis of the Health Ministry’s guidelines for safe adaptation to the pandemic.

If permitted by the Hanoi People’s Committee, the tourism sector will begin resuming activities right this October. Eligible accommodation facilities, destinations, and travel and transport companies will be allowed to reactivate operations.

It will continue developing safe and creative destinations and applying information technology more strongly to diversify tourism products in order to attract domestic travellers, the official noted.

In revent years, Hanoi has been emerging as one of the most attractive destinations in the region and the world.

According to the 2021 TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards, the city was one of the four Vietnamese cities listed among the most popular destinations in Asia in 2020. On the list, Hanoi ranked second, ancient town Hoi An in central Quang Nam province fourth, Ho Chi Minh City 11th, and central Da Nang city 16th. The capital city was also ranked the sixth place among the 25 most popular destinations in the world by Tripadvisor./.

VNA

See more

Illustrative image (Photo: tapchitaichinh.vn)

SMEs urged to embrace ESG to unlock green finance

According to the International Finance Corporation’s 2023 Country Climate and Development Report, businesses with clear ESG strategies attract 20–25% more investment than those without ESG strategies.

Farmers in Thoai Son district, An Giang province, harvest the 2025 Winter-Spring rice crop. (Photo: VNA)

A new symbol of responsible production

Vietnamese agricultural products clearing strict technical and quality barriers to reach Japanese dining tables is no longer a rare feat. However, the recent export of 500 tonnes of Japonica rice by Trung An High-Tech Farming JSC in partnership with Japan’s Murase Group carries special significance.

The US dollar at Vietnamese commercial banks has so far this year increased by about 2.6-3% against the dong. (Photo: VNA)

Dollar appreciates in domestic market due to surge in foreign debt repayment

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s central exchange rate this week even set a new peak, surpassing 25,000 VND per dollar for the first time. The dollar selling price at commercial banks has also remained close to the ceiling, indicating that pressure on the USD/VND exchange rate has not decreased.

From left to right: US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and Ambassador Jamieson Greer, US Trade Representative. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, US conclude third round of bilateral trade talks

The two sides also agreed to convene an online working-level meeting in the coming days to continue resolving outstanding issues and prepare for a virtual ministerial dialogue between Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

Export hub model opens new pathways for Vietnamese goods in Canada (Photo: VNA)

Model helps boost Vietnamese exports to Canada

In 2024, two-way trade between Vietnam and Canada reached over 11 billion USD, with Vietnam enjoying a trade surplus of nearly 10 billion USD. A key contributor to this success has been Vietnamese-Canadian businesses, notably Renso Foods.

The “Ting Ting Day” Festival opens on June 14 in HCM City (Photo: VNA)

Cashless payment festival launched in HCM City

As of 2024, Vietnam had recorded over 204.5 million bank accounts held by individual customers and 154.1 million bank cards in circulation. Nearly 87% of Vietnamese adults now have bank accounts.