Turtle Tower on Hoan Kiem Lake, an icon of Hanoi (Photo: VNA) The start of the fourthcoronavirus wave coincided with the National Reunification Day (April 30) andMay Day holidays, which has severely impacted the tourism sector, the Ha NoiMoi (New Hanoi) daily reported.
About 90 percent of customerscancelled their booked tours slated for May and early June while programmesstimulating travel demand in summer, expected to be the “golden season” fortourism businesses, have yet to begin due to the complex COVID-19 situation inmany provinces and cities.
In the face of thosedifficulties, many enterprises have adopted new business forms.
VietFoot Travel has switchedto providing transportation services, mostly handling visa applicationprocedures, seeking flights, and arranging coaches, for foreign experts andoverseas Vietnamese since the beginning of 2021.
Its director Pham Duy Nghiasaid though the number of customers is not big, these services have proved helpfulfor the company to sustain its operations and retain employees.
Director of AZA Travel NguyenTien Dat noted as tourism activities have been suspended, his firm has assignedseveral staff members to work in the field of beverage manufacturing.
VietSense, another travelcompany, has had part of its employees running a restaurant which only sellstakeaways to comply with COVID-19 prevention and control rules, Director NguyenVan Tai said, adding that this restaurant can help supply travel services whenits customers have demand.
However, the Ha Noi Moi dailynoted, the moves taken by many travel firms are just temporary solutions.
To shore up the local tourismsector amid the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the Hanoi Tourism Associationrecently held a teleconference gathering nearly 30 businesses to seeksolutions.
Vice chairwoman of theassociation Trinh Thi My Nghe recommended that since the current outbreak ismore dangerous and spreading faster than the previous ones, travel enterprisesshould have plans to “live with the pandemic” and resume tourism activities ina new form that meets both anti-COVID-19 requirements and travellers’ demand.
Phung Quang Thang, Chairmanof the Hanoi Branch of the Vietnam Society of Travel Agents and Director ofHanoitourist, said to resume tourism activities, authorities need to seal offpandemic-hit areas and publicise the ones “safe” for visitors.
Only when Hanoi and otherlocalities ease restrictions on certain activities can tourism be resumed, hesaid, noting that tourism activities should only be carried out in a smallscale with a controlled number of visitors.
Service suppliers shouldsuggest travellers come to “safe” destinations and enjoy leisure tourism insteadof adventure or experimental tourism, Thang added.
Meanwhile, Director ofPattours Vu Giang Bien held that businesses need to step up applying digitaltechnology into the development of new products as well as the management oftourists’ health and health declarations.
Tourism workers should alsobe vaccinated against COVID-19, which will help travellers feel at ease and theindustry secure long-term safety, Bien said.
The Hanoi Department ofTourism has devised a plan of activities for the second half of this year.
Its director Dang Huong Giangsaid the department is working to improve the quality of tourism products anddestinations and preparing for this year’s gift, tourism, and “ao dai”festivals.
Once the outbreak isbasically brought under control, the department will submit proposals to themunicipal administration so as to identify “safe” areas and localities fortravel, thereby helping enterprises create their tourism service plans, she said.
As safety must be prioritisedduring tourism recovery and development, relevant parties need to seriouslycomply with anti-pandemic rules, proactively tackle difficulties, and work outsolutions for each COVID-19 response plan, Giang noted./.
VNA
