Hanoi (VNA) - Tourism operators have been bullish about theirbusiness’s bouncing back after being battered by COVID-19 as the summer holidaysnear and the disease is largely brought under control.

Visitors elated to travel

According to a survey conducted by the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board andVnExpress.net in March, of 3,500 respondents, 53.4 percent had plans to travel betweenMay and September while 30.2 percent said they were ready to go on holidays inMarch and April.

The top 10 getaways are Da Nang, Kien Giang, Lam Dong, Lao Cai, Khanh Hoa,Quang Ninh, Binh Dinh, Binh Thuan, Ha Giang, and Quang Nam, the surveyrevealed.

More than 58 percent of respondents said they would spend their holidays indestinations that are safe from disease.

Meanwhile, travel firms said that up to 60 percent of tours have been bookedfor the four-day national Reunification Day (April 30) and International LabourDay (May 1) holiday. Tourists are booking mostly short-distance trips and briefstays in Sa Pa, Ha Long, Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Da Lat, and Con Dao Island.

Vietravel said that around 60 percent of its vacation packages, which includeflights, car rentals, and hotels, have been bought.

In Sa Pa town, 80 percent of rooms at local lodging facilities will be filledduring the four-day holiday, while many hotels are fully booked.

Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the “Vietnamesepeople travel to Vietnamese destinations” campaign, encouraging Vietnamesecitizens to travel domestically to support local businesses after socialdistancing measures were eased.

The campaign was introduced as the domestic market is now regarded as theprimary driver for the recovery of Vietnam’s tourism industry from the crushingimpact of the pandemic.

According to Deputy Director General of the Vietnam National Administration ofTourism (VNAT), Ha Van Sieu, local visitors had an enthusiastic response to theministry’s stimulus campaign as they were well informed of new tourism productsand that the tourism sector was ready to welcome visitors once again.

Vietnam will continue to capitalise on domestic tourism during 2021-2023 and newtourism products will be developed in preparation for the return ofinternational tourism in the “new normal”.


Domestic tourism should be classified

Sieu said it is necessary to have a good understanding of the post-pandemicmarket and to sketch out suitable strategies.

Regarding well-developed tourism destinations, they should receive support inpolicies and technologies to recover, while others need assistance to createnew development opportunities and become “new stars” in the industry in thenear future, he said.

Tourism development strategies should sharpen the focus on classifying thedomestic tourism market to better serve the demands of visitors, Sieu said,explaining that this would help increase domestic tourism revenue.

This year, the Visit Vietnam Year 2021 will be held under the theme “Hoa Lu - thethousand-year Ancient Capital” in Ninh Binh province. It is expected to help expandpost-pandemic tourism and open up new plans for tourism development, headded./.