Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Seventy-one percent of enterprises in the hospitality industry responding to a recent survey said their revenue in the first quarter of 2020 fell more than 30 percent against the same period last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey was conducted from April 13-17 by the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB) and the Private Economic Development Research Board under the Government’s Advisory Council for Administrative Procedure Reform, in collaboration with Grant Thornton Ltd. and VnExpress, to assess the impacts of the pandemic on hospitality companies and to propose suitable supportive policies for the government's consideration.
A total of 394 enterprises responded to the survey, of which 51.4 percent were tour operators, 15.3 percent hotels, and 14.2 percent transport companies. Some 92 percent of respondents were small and medium-sized enterprises with less than 100 employees, Hoang Nhan Chinh, Director of the TAB’s Secretariat, said on April 21.
Some 77 percent of respondents said revenue may plunge even further in the second quarter of 2020, perhaps by as much as 80 percent.
Sixty-five percent of hotel respondents said Q1 revenue was less than 30 percent of the figure in the first quarter of last year. About one-third said Q1 average room rates were equal to just 30 to 50 percent of rates last year.
Around 18 percent of respondents have laid off all of their employees while 48 percent have laid off 50 to 80 percent. Some 75 percent have provided different types of financial support to laid-off staff.
Most must still pay rentals, salaries, and interest during the temporary closure ordered by the government to contain the spread of COVID-19. Only 4 percent indicated they have not incurred any extra costs because of the pandemic.
Some 82.7 percent of respondents said operations could return to normal at the beginning of Q3 while 41.1 percent forecast they will not be likely to rebound before 2021.
About 72.6 percent said they want to receive support from the government or be allowed to defer their tax payments, insurance premiums, and other payables, while over 88 percent expect government guarantees when applying for loans./.
