Vietnam continues domestic tourism stimulus programmes

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has asked relevant agencies, associations and businesses to continue rolling out programmes aiming to boost domestic tourism in the closing months of this year.

Rosy Huong

huongthhd@gmail.com September 19, 2020 | 11:20

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In a recently-issued document, the ministry said localities and businesses should choose their own messages that match the attractiveness as well as specific products of destinations, targeting Vietnamese and foreigners working and living in the country.

It suggested forming stimulus alliances between localities, associations, businesses, agencies and airlines, developing good-quality, diverse products with attractive prices, and adopting flexible policies to ensure the interests of holiday-makers.

Notably, companies and localities need to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention and control regulations, the ministry said, urging tourists and enterprises to regularly update themselves with information about destinations through mass media and apps.

The ministry also highlighted the role of the media in promoting the safety and attractiveness of Vietnam’s tourism.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) is tasked with coordinating activities of tourism stimulus alliances and assisting localities and businesses in popularising promotion programmes through the website www.vietnamtourism.gov.vn, the Tourism Newspaper, the Tourism Magazine and the social network.

Vietnam International Travel Mart slated for November

The Vietnam International Travel Mart 2019 features more than 500 booths by 720 businesses from both at home and abroad. (Photo: vietnamtourism.gov.vn)

The Vietnam International Travel Mart 2020 (VITM) is scheduled to take place from November 18-21 after being postponed twice due to COVID-19.

Held at the Vietnam-Soviet Friendship Cultural Palace, the event will feature about 300 stalls run by tourism businesses as well as tourism management and promotion agencies from 54 cities and provinces nationwide.

The previous edition of the VITM welcomed some 65,000 visitors.

In response to the latest situation, its theme will be changed from “Heritage - Power of Vietnam Tourism” to “Digital transformation boosts Vietnamese tourism’s development”.

The fair was initially rescheduled from April 1-4 to May 14-17 and then August 12-15 due to the pandemic.

The previous edition of the VITM welcomed some 65,000 visitors, of whom about 29,300 booked tours right at the fair, helping the participating enterprises earn around 322.3 billion VND (13.8 million USD)./.

The number of foreign tourists to Vietnam reached only 3.8 million in the first eight months of 2020, down by 66.6 percent compared to the figure of 11.3 million recorded in the same period last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted travel.

Most of the arrivals were before March 22, the day Vietnam started closing its border to nearly all foreign arrivals in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The country only in recent months allows a few exceptions – foreign diplomats, investors, highly skilled workers and experts, along with some flights repatriating Vietnamese citizens. All foreign entries are quarantined for 14 days upon arrival.

Of the 3.8 million, 3.05 million arrived in Vietnam by air, while 580,000 and 140,000 entered the country via land and sea routes.

The General Statistics Office said while 163,000 foreign arrivals in August is an improvement of 17 percent compared to July, it still marks a 99 percent decline compared to the number in 2019.

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