Tourists at Nha Trang Bay in Khánh Hòa Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiên Minh

HCM CITY — The central coastal province of Khánh Hòa plans to gradually revive domestic travel starting in the fourth quarter and reopen to international tourism in the first quarter of next year.

Nguyễn Thị Lệ Thanh, deputy director of the provincial Department of Tourism, said the tourism supply chain in Khánh Hòa has remained in operation during the second wave of COVID-19 since the province is not considered to be at high risk.

The province would focus on drawing domestic tourists back in the fourth quarter of the year and next year as the COVID-19 pandemic comes under control in Việt Nam, she said.

Expats living in Việt Nam are also potential foreign tourists for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays, she said.

The department plans to resume its domestic travel stimulus programme and introduce new MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) and leisure travel packages to attract family and friend groups from Hà Nội, HCM City, the Mekong Delta, and the Central Highlands.

It will collaborate with Cam Ranh International Airport Services JSC and airlines to carry out communication and marketing activities and an international travel stimulus programme to prepare for international tourism next year.

It plans to organise an online market for international travel agencies and Khánh Hòa tourism services providers to hold exchanges.   

The tourism authority hopes to welcome 350,000 visitors in the fourth quarter, including 10,000 foreigners.

The province received nearly 986,000 visitors in the first eight months of the year, just a fifth of the number last year, and revenues from tourism were worth VNĐ6.02 trillion (US$258.5 million), or a fourth.

Hotels reported a room occupancy rate of just 13 per cent this year. — VNS