Residents of a neighbourhood in Hồng Hà Ward in Hạ Long city, Quảng Ninh province join hands to clean up after the storm. VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Vân

QUẢNG NINH — Local authorities are organising a three-day campaign to clean up Hạ Long Bay, said Quảng Ninh People's Committee Chairman Cao Tường Huy at a meeting with local tourism businesses on Friday.

Huy expressed an understanding of the challenges tourism and service businesses face due to the recent natural disaster and urged local firms to work with the province to recover. According to the Chairman, Quảng Ninh is committed to addressing difficulties faced by businesses and reaffirmed that the targets and plans for tourism and services will remain unchanged, contributing to overall economic growth.

Chairman Huy instructed related departments to resolve issues immediately in order to welcome tourists back as soon as possible, prioritising restoring power and telecommunications and addressing environmental and food safety concerns. He emphasised the urgent need for local groups to help with the three-day cleanup campaign to collect waste, repair infrastructure, and salvage sunken ships.

He also called for strict monitoring of prices, ensuring the supply of food and necessities and quickly restoring tourism activities, including accommodation and transport services to island destinations in Hạ Long Bay.

Quảng Ninh will continue to promote its tourism potential and strengths with the help of local authorities.

The Quảng Ninh Department of Finance was tasked with creating a plan to support water pricing and communicating tax exemptions and reductions per state regulations, while the Quảng Ninh Department of Transport will assist in salvaging sunken tourist ships.

The province will also promptly propose policies on banking, including debt deferral, interest rate reductions and new loans for affected businesses. Authorities will also request reductions in electricity prices, taxes and insurance to support enterprises.

Typhoon Yagi caused significant damage to Quảng Ninh, severely impacting social life, including the tourism sector. Most onshore accommodation facilities in the province sustained damage including broken windows, damaged roofs and fallen trees and lampposts.

Many facilities in Hạ Long, Vân Đồn, Cẩm Phả and Cô Tô suffered heavy damage to their electrical, air conditioning and water systems.

In total, twenty-seven tourist boats and four transfer ships sank in the storm. Infrastructure at Tuần Châu International Passenger Port was damaged, including the roof and offices, and Hạ Long International Cruise Port saw all pontoons at Pier No.3 swept away. To quickly restore tourism services, efforts to repair the damage began immediately after the typhoon.

Tourism businesses have requested the People’s Committee to support post-storm recovery efforts and continue promoting tourism programmes. They also called for the introduction of new tourist sites to reduce pressure on traditional areas and requested postponements on bank debts and social insurance payments. - VNS