Phú Quốc Island may see a fall of tourist arrivals this month due to the Covid-19 outbreak. —  Photo vietnamtourism.gov.vn

MEKONG DELTA — The Cửu Long (Mekong) Region is seeing a fall in the number of tourist arrival due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

According to Cần Thơ City’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the city attracted 813,000 visitors during Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, a year-on-year increase of 4.5 per cent, but the number of visitors has been down in January and February.

Local tourism agencies announced that many tours to and from Cần Thơ have been cancelled.

The Đồng Tháp Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism forecasts that the number of arrivals would decrease by 50 per cent.

Cần Thơ and Đồng Tháp asked tourism areas to focus on upgrading facilities, building new attractions and tours, and training staff to be ready to welcome visitors when the Covid-19 epidemic ends.

They also asked tourism agencies, hotels and restaurants to create tourism promotion plans, discount programmes, and new tourism products.

An Giang Province is preparing for an annual Bà Chúa Xứ Temple Festival on Sam Mountain in Châu Đốc Town. It will be held from the 23rd to the 27th day of the fourth lunar month, or May 15-19.

Nguyễn Khánh Hiệp, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said: “The province expects to welcome a huge number of visitors during the festival.”

According to the Kiên Giang Province’s Tourism Department, many resorts on Phú Quốc Island are facing challenges because the number of visitors, particularly foreigners, is expected to drop dramatically this month.

In 2019, Phú Quốc welcomed 8.78 million visitors, an increase of 13.9 per cent compared to 2018. — VNS