Tourism trade wants extra than simply vaccines to outlive

It is believed that the tourism industry has had a profound direct and indirect impact on socio-economic life in the central region for years.

This industry is under heavy pressure to survive, change, or disintegrate due to the challenges posed by Covid-19.

A visitor poses for a picture on a beach in Danang City. – SGT photo: Nhan Tam

An unusually quiet summer season

At that time last year, Danang’s tourism industry has been busy all summer with incentive events and programs, including the popular Fantastic Danang Festival 2020 held from July 30th to August 5th with the opportunity to restore other economic sectors such as transportation, trade, Construction and banking as the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam has been brought under control.

Thanks to the programs, Danang welcomed more than 450,000 visitors in June 2020. The number was expected to be much higher in July and August – the high season for summer tourism. Cao Tri Dung, chairman of the Danang Tourism Association (DATA), believed at the time that more and more tourists would come to the city by the end of the year because they wanted to travel after a long period of social distancing.

The tourism industry in other central provinces such as Quang Nam, Thua Thien-Hue and Binh Dinh was also happy about the good news. Danang was the gateway and welcomed passenger flights from other locations into the central region. Many Danang travel companies took the opportunity to invest in travel, transportation and accommodation services to serve tourists on the central route from Quang Binh to Binh Dinh.

However, things went downhill after the new Covid-19 outbreak in Danang on the evening of July 24th, which spread to other locations. Danang was then detained for more than 30 days.

Danang then switched to operating rescue flights to bring thousands of tourists stranded in the city back to their hometowns.

“We lost the high season in summer. Now we can only come back thanks to the end of the year and the new year, ”Doan Hai Dang, chairman of the Danang Travel Association, said at the time.

However, the pandemic became unpredictable and the tourism industry continued to do poorly across the country. According to statistics, revenue from tourism and related services reached only VND 322 billion in the first six months of 2021, which is a decrease of more than 33% from the previous year.

Business is now starting the second quiet summer season in a row without guests.

“I am very keen to welcome local tourists this summer, but what man proposes is provided by God,” said Nguyen Ngoc Anh, director of Omega Tours. “The pandemic has broken out again. Customers have canceled or postponed their booked tours. All of our cars could not be used for months. We don’t have a source of income, but we have a lot of expenses every day, from bank interest to taxes to maintenance costs, ”he said, adding that almost all travel companies are in the same situation.

Accommodation establishments are also in an equally “tragic” situation. Almost four- and five-star resorts along the beach are having to downsize. Meanwhile, many other smaller hotels have closed their doors for many months or are being sold.

According to statistics from the Danang Ministry of Tourism, 38,717 out of 50,963 tourism workers were on leave at the end of 2020. This year, 11,802 of the 24,248 tourism employees had to give up their jobs by the end of June.

What the tourism industry in Danang is doing now is planning alternative plans because it cannot yet receive guests by air or road.

“With the aim of gradually warming up tourism activities in Danang and helping tourism companies to resume operations, our department would coordinate with DATA to develop solutions to restore tourism activities once the Covid-19 pandemic is under control” said Nguyen Xuan Binh, deputy director of the Danang Ministry of Tourism.

In addition to ensuring safety, the Danang Ministry of Tourism will coordinate with local counties to propose measures to develop agricultural and community tourism in some destinations.

Local tourism: a lifeline?

Encouraging local residents to travel is a viable option that is carried out by some locations in the central region.

YesHue Eco ecotourism area in the Nam Dong Mountain District of Thua Thien-Hue Province offers picnics for locals, including adults, students, and children.

“It is a good choice to attract tourists who are residents of Thua Thien-Hue,” said Le Thi Kim Hang, director of YesHue Eco, adding that the number of guests per day is limited for the sake of health and safety of guests ensuring tourists are required to submit health declarations, among other requirements, including requiring guests to wear masks and wash their hands before entering the premises. In addition, all of their employees have already been vaccinated.

YesHue Eco is one of the few tourism companies in the Central Province that implements the “Hue people travel to Hue” program.

The Thua Thien-Hue Tourism Association has proposed appropriate measures to promote tourism through price cuts and a combination of services.

Nguyen Hoang Thuy Vy, vice chairwoman of the association, said he is developing packages for guests wanting to discover their hometown, from the kitchen to spa services. The association also encourages resorts in remote areas to promote activities such as bathing, convalescence, soaking in mineral water, bathing in streams and stays at resorts on weekends.

The companies also agreed that the province should exempt or reduce the entrance fees to cultural heritage sites.

As for tourism trends, according to the Thua Thien-Hue Ministry of Tourism, the current course of the pandemic is still unpredictable, so this summer and possibly until the end of 2021, Thua Thien-Hue will only target local residents and partially those from safe regions.

However, some said that the policy of “Hue locals traveling to Hue” or “locals traveling in their places” is generally only a temporary solution.

First, locals only travel at certain times (weekends, summer, holidays, Tet, etc.). Second, not many locals travel so few travel companies can serve them and they can even travel alone. Additionally, not many travel companies (including lodging, travel, and tourist attractions) are reopening at this point due to the burden of operating costs, including human resources.

Hoi An City in Quang Nam Province is another example. Data from the Quang Nam Tourism Association shows that about 90% of the city’s revenue comes directly and indirectly from tourism. Most of the tourists in Hoi An are foreigners or domestic guests from other parts of the nation. Therefore, the tourism industry is almost exhausted here.

One of the solutions of the Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is to encourage Quang Nam residents to visit destinations in Quang Nam. “A group of guests can travel in their private cars and spend the weekend at the resort,” suggested Le Ngoc Tuong, the department’s deputy director.

However, many companies think this is difficult to do because of the cost and ad hoc decisions by the local government on bans due to Covid-19 outbreaks.

Quang Nam reportedly has some international corporation-run companies encouraging Quang Nam people to visit Hoi An for tourism and relaxation, but only on weekends. Companies admit that this is only an interim solution.

Vaccines and a New Tourism Ecosystem

“It is necessary to run vaccination campaigns as soon as possible and find a new way to attract tourists,” said Phan Xuan Thanh, chairman of QTA. The businessman added that there should be a list of places to be prioritized for vaccine allocation. Examples are provinces that are mainly dependent on the tourism industry.

“Whenever some places can welcome domestic and international tourists, it means that Vietnam’s tourism brand is still competitive,” Thanh said, adding that the government should allow those who are in close contact with Covid-19 patients come to be quarantined in hotels rather than state isolation centers.

Thanh also agreed that a new tourism trend will be to adapt to Covid-19 in the future. Using his own company, Emic Hospitality, as an example, he said lean operations, focusing on core values, staff training and new products are the way to go for him.

He also encouraged QTA member companies to band together to better serve guests.

Regarding tourism in the new era, Nguyen Thanh Binh, vice chairman of Thua Thien Hue Province, said that there must be a synchronous solution that consists of three steps. The first is to bolster the popularity of safe travel destinations, which is consistently carried out by the government to individual businesses, tourism service providers, and the community. Second, it is important to define the target group and the scope of the business. There are activities to attract local tourists in the near future, followed by nationwide visitors. Step three offers a long-term, strategic solution to the new normal.

The Hue tourism industry is known to have conducted surveys of tourism trends.

Accordingly, it has been found that in addition to cheap prices, travelers prefer destinations that are nearby, safe and not too crowded.

In addition, the nature-related wellness tourism and fitness activities, sports and healthy eating have also attracted the attention of tourists.

According to insiders, a new tourism ecosystem will soon form, combined with vaccines and tourism in the new normal (few people, ecology). And the central region will have a high season for summer tourism in 2022. To adapt to change, companies need to think about reinvesting, Thanh said.

Source: SGT

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