Visitors to HCM City. VNS Photo Thu Hằng

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Tourism has planned for two possible scenarios to kick-start the tourism market post-COVID-19.

In the first scenario, the pandemic will be controlled next month and the department will resume its domestic travel stimulus programme featuring co-operation between hotels and resorts, travel operators and transport service providers to offer high-quality products at low prices.

The city will foster travel linkage agreements with the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and south-eastern regions.

It will also expand linkages with other regions in the country.

Propaganda about COVID-19 safety measures would be promoted to ensure that businesses comply with safety standards to protect staff, guests and the community, Nguyễn Thị Ánh Hoa, deputy director of the department, said in a statement.

The other scenario is that the pandemic goes on until year-end, meaning the tourism market remains in a slump and the promotion and marketing activities will focus on restructuring and workforce retraining.

“The department will help businesses restructure their operations and develop new products to prepare for the recovery,” Hoa said.

At least 90 per cent of travel agencies have halted operations, according to a report released by the department.

Fewer than 10 per cent maintain operations to take care of tour cancellations and debts to customers.

Hotels are suffering from mass cancellation of business events and wedding celebrations and occupancy rates of less than 10 per cent, according to the report.

Tourism enterprises face severe financial distress, but the Government’s relief package of VNĐ62 trillion (US$2.66 billion) for people and businesses directly affected by the pandemic has hardly benefited anyone, Hoa said.

“It is very difficult for individuals and businesses to access the relief package.”

To date seven businesses have managed to get the interest rates on their bank loans reduced following meetings between the department and the State Bank of Việt Nam. —VNS