Tourists at Pu Luong, Thanh Hoa province. (Photo: VNA)

Solutions for re-opening tourism

Ensuring safety during the re-opening requires thorough preparations by the Government, ministries, agencies, and travel companies, experts have said.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, Secretary General of the Tourism Advisory Board (TAB), said in a letter to the Government that the board strongly supports the Government’s policy of not trading public health for economic benefit.

The TAB has proposed solutions to ensure the safe resumption of tourism, in particular the return of international arrivals, he said, adding that one of the solutions is to establish a working group that brings together experts from different fields like health care, public security, national defence, diplomacy, culture, sports, and tourism.

These experts will put forth pandemic safety criteria and make a list of countries that can satisfy safety standards, according to Chinh.

All international visitors to Vietnam must observe procedures regarding “vaccine passports”, vaccination certificates, and PCR testing before departure and after arrival, he stressed.

A long quarantine may make visitors feel bored, experts have said, so suitable measures are required to shorten the quarantine period while absolutely ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control.

The Government should adopt policies on compulsory travel health insurance that covers COVID-19 for visitors to Vietnam and Vietnamese who wish to travel abroad, Chinh said.

Moreover, tourism workers need to be included on the priority list for COVID-19 vaccination.

The TAB representative also proposed the Government consider a commercial vaccination programme for organisations and businesses that are able to provide shots for their staff, along with drawing up tourism promotions at key destinations.

Vietnam - Safe destination

As one of the leading tourism hub of the nation, the capital city of Hanoi is rolling out a host of activities in an effort to warm up the domestic tourism market, and stands ready for the return of foreign tourists.

Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Dang Huong Giang said the capital has prioritised COVID-19 prevention and control in anticipation of the return of international holidaymakers.

According to the official, Hanoi had to suspend its cooperation with CNN last year promoting the city’s image due to the pandemic, but the programme will continue this year.

“We would like to spread the message that Vietnam, particularly Hanoi, is a safe destination with a raft of complete, quality services,” she said.

The department has asked local hotels to upgrade their infrastructure and strengthen their human resources in preparation for the arrival of foreign vacationers.

Giang affirmed that all international festivals to be organised in Hanoi this year will be at the international level, so as to attract foreign visitors./.VNA

High hopes for recovery of domestic tourism during summer

Tourism operators have been bullish about their business’s bouncing back after being battered by COVID-19 as the summer holidays near and the disease is largely brought under control.