Tourists visiting Trần Phú Street in the Old Quarter of Hội An ancient town. The most popular destination in central Việt Nam began receiving tourists again from November 15. — Photo courtesy Tấn Châu

HỘI AN — The ancient town of Hội An has officially welcomed tourists back to the Old Quarter, Thanh Hà pottery village, Cẩm Thanh and the Chàm Islands.

The Old Quarter zone will only be reserved for walkers, bicycles and non-motorised vehicles from 9am to 11am and 3pm to 9pm each day as usual. 

Entrance tickets to all destinations will offer a 50 per cent discount as part of the tourism recovery plan prepared by the Hội An city authorities and travel agencies a few months ago.

The first group of tourists with 'vaccine passport' have come to the UNESCO-recognised world heritage site this week.

Fishing boats anchored in the waters of the Chàm Islands off the coast of Hội An City. The site will receive visitors from November as part of a tourism recovery plan for Quảng Nam Province. — VNS Photo Công Thành

The ancient town will also host package group tour services in a strict preventive measure programme that aims to protect tourists from COVID-19 infections.

All visitors are required to use the PC COVID application for scanning QR-Code at destinations, maintaining a safe distance and ensuring disinfection.

According to the city authority, 90 per cent of residents in the Old Quarter has been vaccinated; all tour guides had received two vaccine shots.

The Japanese Covered Bridge is one of the most visited sites in Hội An. Visitors entering the site must scan a QR-Code and keep a safe distance from each other. — VNS Photo Công Thành

According to a report from Hội An City’s Culture and Sports centre, the most visited ancient town used to host at least 10,000 visitors each night, but the pandemic severely hit the tourism industry in 2020-21.

Hội An and Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary – two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Quảng Nam Province – are among pilot destinations to host foreign tourists along with Phú Quốc City in Kiên Giang Province; Khánh Hòa and Quảng Ninh provinces and the central city of Đà Nẵng from November, without a quarantine mandate. — VNS