Khanh Hoa welcomes Russian tourists with ‘vaccine passports'

Khanh Hoa (VNA) - The south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on December 26 welcomed the first group of Russian tourists back since March 2020 due to the adverse impacts of COVID-19.

A ceremony was held in the province to welcome 325 tourists, comprising 226 Russians holding 'vaccine passports'.

Natalia Rukavichkina said this is the sixth time that she has travelled to Vietnam and looks forward to new experiences during her stay in Khanh Hoa.

Director of the Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Le Thanh said the welcome of Russian tourists holding 'vaccine passports' for the first time after two years serves as a driving force for the province’s tourism sector, helping affirm Khanh Hoa and Nha Trang beach city in particular as a safe, quality and attractive destination.

Another group of more than 200 Russian holidaymakers is set to arrive in Khanh Hoa later this month in a similar method, she added.

After more than one-month implementation of the pilot programme to receive ‘vaccine passport’ holders in the first phase, Khanh Hoa welcomed nearly 3,000 tourists from the Republic of Korea, Japan and Malaysia.

Khanh Hoa tourism has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic for the second consecutive year. In 2021, the province served about 643,000 visitors, including nearly 23,000 foreigners, posting a year-on-year plunge of 48.55 percent and 94.81 percent.     

It earned 2.43 trillion VND (106.35 million USD) from tourism in the year./.