Illustrative image (Source: VNA) HCM City (VNA) - Ho Chi Minh City recorded 1,800visitors booking hotel rooms during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday fromFebruary 9 to 17, the municipal Department of Tourism reported aftersummarising figures from 22 of the 124 local 3 to 5-star hotels.
Tourists numbers were down sharply compared to Tetlast year, primarily due to the COVID-19 outbreak right before the holiday.
Recognising that many people had decided not to returnto their homeland because of the pandemic, many travel companies offered variousshort tours to nearby safe destinations.
Department Director Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said it coordinatedwith accommodation providers to manage those coming from pandemic-hit regions whilestrictly implementing safety standards for COVID-19 prevention and control.
Providers were also asked to ensure guest safety byapplying the Ministry of Health's message featuring 5K (in Vietnamese) Khau trang (facemask)- (Khu khuan) disinfection- (Khoang cach) distance- (Khong tu tap) no gathering – (Khai bao y te) health declaration.
Analysts have forecast that fluctuations will be seenin the number of visitors to local accommodation providers this year, which areposting occupancy of less than 10 percent./.
