Lê Hương

A common criteria is critical to restarting domestic tourism in Việt Nam. Though tourism workers and enterprises are trying to continue as best they can despite the pandemic, many of them are still unsure of the different restrictions in place.

Members of the Hà Nội Travel Agencies’ Association and the Vgreen Sustainable Tourism Club have discussed solutions to start domestic tours.

According to Phùng Quang Thắng, chairman of the Association, the 'new-normal' tourism activities should be divided into two stages.

“In the first stage, we try to recover amid the pandemic. Vaccination is an important condition to recover tourism,” he told Việt Nam News.

“Quick testing for locals and visitors is also important to the process,” he added.

Copper Pagoda in the Yên Tử Mountain Range in Uông Bí City, northern province of Quảng Ninh. —  VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

Thắng said many enterprises have suffered tremendously during the pandemic.

“They tend to consider more carefully their activities,” he said. “Many enterprises have shown their strong will to restart operations, which will bring an overall recovery for the sector.”

Thắng suggested travelling activities should be resumed inside each region first. Then, once a common list of regulations among localities is agreed upon, these regions can be connected. 

Nguyễn Văn Ngọc, head of Tourism Management Unit of Bắc Giang Culture and Tourism Department, said the locality highly appreciate the efforts of the Hà Nội Travel Agencies’ Association to resume safe tourism again.

He said the authorities have sent documents to various destinations in the province, to receive guests who had two vaccine jabs 14 days ahead of travelling and negative COVID-19 tests from within the past 72 hours.

Bắc Giang has over 28,000 fruit trees in Lục Ngạn District, has set up tourism community co-operatives in this province.

“We are willing to connect with the association to bring visitors to those lychee orchards,” he said.

Phan Hồng Châu, director of Hope Tourism & Services SJC, said the company has paid attention to how to safely resume tourism in the area. 

Artists perform at Sun World Fansipan Legend tourism site in the northern province of Lào Cai. —  VNA/VNS Photo  Quốc Khánh

“We want to receive swiftly updated health information from passengers on the newly resumed domestic flights,” she said. “An electronic health diary can help a lot and save time for tourists while travelling."

Hồ Đức Phú, director of Hanoitourist in HCM City, confirmed that enterprises in HCM City are very interested in the details of tours in the northeast and northwest regions.

“Such provinces like Hà Giang and Điện Biên are ready to welcome tourists, but in order to reach these provinces, visitors must pass such provinces like Tuyên Quang and Thái Nguyên. Will they meet any obstacles? Do they need any testing certificates? What are the criteria for guests to enter there?” he asked.

Phú said southern enterprises wanted to reconnect more closely with their northern counterparts.

“More details on tours and destinations in the north and the criteria of each province in the new-normal conditions should be available,” he said.

Vũ Văn Tuyên, a representative of Travelogy Việt Nam based in Hà Nội, said one of the surveys by Travelogy showed that after two years of suffering from the pandemic, customer demands have changed.

More people said they will choose to travel by themselves. They tend to choose mountainous regions, and relax more in nature, he said.

“This will be an advantage for the northeast and northwest regions at the end of this year, as these areas controlled the pandemic very well,” he said.

Tuyên, however, suggested that a two-way exchange between service suppliers and tourism enterprises be set up, to ensure that destinations and routes are maximised.

Some provinces have resumed inner-province tourism, such as Thanh Hoá, Bắc Giang, Hà Giang, Điện Biên, and Quảng Ninh. Hồ Chí Minh City did host some special tours to Cần Giờ for medical workers and other front-line forces.

Vaccine solution for Ninh Bình

The northern province of Ninh Bình has focused on vaccination as a solution.

Bùi Văn Mạnh, director of Ninh Bình Tourism Department, said 100 per cent of boat rowers have been vaccinated, as well as tourism, hotels and resorts workers. Of these, 60 per cent have got second jabs.

Thung Nham Bird Sanctuary in the northern province of Ninh Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức

“By the end of this year, all tourism workers will be fully vaccinated,” he said.

All tourism service enterprises in the province have been trained on how to receive guests with utmost safety, which is also a condition of the authorities that choose which enterprises will join the programme to restart the domestic tourism.

“We will operate following regulations from Green Area to receive visitors with two jabs and negative PCR tests,” Tống Anh Đệ, director of Legend Hotel Co Ltd.

The province has mobilised the private sector to join the vaccination process.

Over 500,000 doses of vaccines have been donated by the Xuân Trường Enterprise, which will help 80 per cent of over 18's in the province reach herd immunity.

“When I got two injections sponsored by Xuân Trường Enterprise, I felt safer,” said Nguyễn Thị Bích Loan, a resident in Yên Khánh District of the province. “So do my family members and neighbours.”

Ninh Bình this year hosts the National Tourism Year, dubbed “Hoa Lư – One Thousand Year Imperial Citadel”.

Mạnh said that with uniformed measurements, the province is ready to welcome guests from inside the province, in advance of receiving tourists from other provinces by the end of the year. VNS